Clean Air in the San Joaquin Valley:

CRPE Protects the Valley’s Most Vulnerable Residents by making the Largest Polluters Abide by the Clean Air Act

Sprayer GOAL: Achieve healthy air in the San Joaquin Valley

BACKGROUND:

The San Joaquin Valley of California ranks among the most polluted air basins in the nation. The American Lung Association ranks the four San Joaquin Valley counties in the top ten most polluted counties in the US: Kern is ranked 2nd, Tulare 3rd, Fresno is 6th and Kings is at the 9th position. Despite these alarming numbers, State and Federal air quality regulators have repeatedly failed to provide the three million residents of the Valley with air quality that meets Federal health-based standards.

Not only is the Valley host to poor air, but also home to high poverty levels. If the Valley were a state, it would rank behind only Mississippi in poverty. The 2000 census found that Tulare, Fresno, Merced, Madera, Kern, Kings, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus counties ranked 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 11, 19, and 23 among California's 58 counties in terms of the highest poverty rates. Poor Valley residents, especially children living in poverty, are more likely to lack access to health care, only worsening the air pollution's lasting effect of Valley residents and communities.

Despite the obvious need for improved air, In the San Joaquin Valley, State, Federal and local politicians have failed miserably to deliver clean air by the deadlines set forth in the Clean Air Act. The Valley Air Quality Project seeks to force these captured regulators to adhere to their duty to protect public health, and not polluters. CRPE works with community groups to enhance their participation in the political process, and brings lawsuits on clients' behalf when government fails the people. CRPE targets the largest and most under regulated polluters: dairies, pesticides, diesel trucks, and diesel agricultural equipment.

LEGAL FIGHTS FOR AIR QUALITY IN THE VALLEY
In 2002 and 2003, we successfully forced regulation of agricultural sources. Working in a coalition of local and national organizations, CRPE represented the Association of Irritated Residents (AIR) and Communities for Land, Air, & Water (CLAW) in a series of cases which have had the historic result of ending California's exemption of agricultural sources from Clean Air Act permit programs. CRPE wrote the historic legislation – SB 700 – that regulates agricultural air pollution, and provided assistance to the grassroots campaign that beat the most power industry in the state. As described in our dairy campaign page, our effort now is focused on enforcing the law after we took away their exemption.

In 2004, CRPE’s Valley clients El Comité para el Bienestar de Earlimart and AIR sued the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Air Resources Board to force them to honor their 1995 promise to cut pesticide air pollution by 20% from 1990 levels by 2005. El Comité won in district court and the court ordered the Department and ARB to adopt regulations. Even though the Ninth Circuit later reversed the court victory on a technicality, the regulations remain. CRPE is working now to ensure that the Department does not weaken these regulations.

Currently CRPE is focused on reducing diesel pollution. Diesel trucks and mobile agricultural equipment are the largest and third largest sources of ozone-forming and PM2.5 pollution. CRPE has targeted weak regulators at the Air Resources Board and the U.S. EPA. We are using legal tactics to make sure the EPA enforces regulations, in addition to community organizing, to educate and empower Valley. With the law and the power of the people, we are closing in on ARB's failure to meaningfully regulate diesel air pollution.

Read press release dated December 22, 2011: EPA Action on Ozone Plan Illegal.
Read the Opinion on Petition Review filed in the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Primary Contact:
Brent Newell 415.346.4179 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
47 Kearny Street, Suite 804, San Francisco, CA 94108
Secondary Contact:
Lupe Martinez 661.720.9140 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
1302 Jefferson Street, Suite 2, Delano, CA 93215