Background
Assembly Bill (AB) 617 (C. Garcia, Chapter 136, 2017) was signed into law in July 2017. CARB established the Community Air Protection Program (Program) to implement AB 617, which requires new community-focused action to reduce air pollution and improve public health in communities that experience disproportionate burdens from exposure to air pollutants. On September 27, 2018, the Board selected ten communities for the first year of this program to implement community emissions reduction programs, community air monitoring, or both. At the same meeting, the Board also approved the “Community Air Protection Blueprint” (Blueprint), which contains detailed requirements for community emissions reduction programs, community air monitoring plans, and other elements of the Program.
Once CARB selects a community to develop a community emissions reduction program, the applicable air district must develop and adopt the community emissions reduction program within one year of selection based on input from a community steering committee. The air district must then submit the community emissions reduction program to CARB for consideration.
CARB selected the community of Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach for a community emissions reduction program as one of the first ten communities in 2018. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) worked with a community steering committee to develop the Community Emissions Reduction Plan (Plan) to reduce exposure to air pollution in Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach. The South Coast AQMD Board of Directors approved the Plan on September 6, 2019.
CARB staff have reviewed the Plan to determine whether it: complies with the minimum criteria the legislation and the Blueprint established for community emissions reduction programs; reflects community priorities; and sets a foundation to deliver emissions and exposure reductions in Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach. CARB staff also held a community meeting in Wilmington on January 16, 2020 to hear directly from Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach Community members and other stakeholders on their perspectives on the Plan. CARB staff released the Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach Community Emissions Reduction Program Staff Report, which contains a summary of the review and staff recommendations to the Board. The Board Meeting to consider the Plan was originally scheduled for March 16, 2020, and is now reschedule for September 10, 2020.
Proposed Action
The Board will hear about the contents of the Plan and consider CARB staff’s recommendations for Board action contained in the Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach Community Emissions Reduction Program Staff Report.
Copies of the Wilmington, Carson, West Long Beach Community Emissions Reduction Program Staff Report may be obtained from CARB’s website beginning August 11, 2020. Because of current travel, facility, and staffing restrictions, the California Air Resources Board’s offices have limited public access. Please contact Bradley Bechtold, Regulations Coordinator, (916) 322-6533 if you need physical copies of the report.
Interested members of the public may present comments orally or in writing at the meeting and may provide comments by postal mail or by electronic submittal before the meeting. To be considered by the Board, written comments not physically submitted at the meeting, must be received no later than September 4, 2020 and addressed to the following:
Postal mail: Clerk’s Office, California Air Resources Board
1001 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814
Please note that under the California Public Records Act (Government Code section 6250 et seq.), your written and oral comments, attachments, and associated contact information (e.g., your address, phone, email, etc.) become part of the public record and can be released to the public upon request.
CARB requests that written statements on this item be filed at least ten days prior to the meeting so that CARB staff and Board members have additional time to consider each comment. Further inquiries regarding this matter should be directed to Terry Allen, Air Pollution Specialist, State Strategy Section, at (951) 465-7818, or Laura Zaremba-Schmidt, Air Resources Engineer, State Strategy Section, at (951) 465-7105.
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