Shawn Dhanak, 517-449-0402, shawn.dhanak@sierraclub.org
Diamond Bar, CA -- On Friday, February 3, hundreds of residents concerned about Southern California’s horrendous air pollution will rally and testify for a strong air quality plan. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) Board is scheduled to take a final vote on a plan to achieve safe air standards, which the region has never done. Members of the media are strongly encouraged to attend.
Environmental, environmental justice and health organizations are mobilizing community members across the region to attend the South Coast AQMD Board meeting and demand a strong clean air plan that actually holds polluters accountable and prioritizes clean-up in communities that are most overburdened by dirty air. A rally for clean air will take place ahead of the vote. Representatives from affected communities will be available to the media following the vote.
WHEN: Friday, February 3, 2017 (South Coast AQMD Board hearing will begin at 9 a.m.; a rally for clean air will begin at approximately 11:30 a.m. in front of the main entrance at South Coast AQMD Headquarters; a media availability is planned immediately following the final vote, which is expected in the afternoon.)
WHERE: South Coast AQMD Headquarters
21865 Copley Drive - Diamond Bar, CA 91765
VISUALS: Hundreds of concerned residents rallying outside South Coast AQMD headquarters. There will be creative signs, chants, and speakers, including compelling testimony inside the hearing room from community members on their struggle breathing in the most polluted air basin in the country.
BACKGROUND: The air quality in the South Coast air basin -- which includes Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, and Riverside counties -- is still not safe to breathe. It is number one in the nation for ozone, or smog, and fifth for particulate matter, or soot. Every county in the air basin received an “F” on the American Lung Association’s 2016 air quality report. The consequences of this failure to achieve clean air are severe. AQMD estimates 5,000 die prematurely every year from breathing polluted air - more than all traffic accidents and crime-related deaths combined.
The South Coast Air Basin has never achieved safe air standards for smog under the Clean Air Act. It’s been generations since Southern California residents had safe, clean air to breathe, and progress has once again stalled. Because the region has never complied with the Clean Air Act, South Coast AQMD is required to submit a plan to the California Air Resource Board (Cal ARB) and then the U.S. Environmental protection Agency (EPA) for how they will get the region into compliance with the law. The plan has to actually hold polluters accountable for cleaning up their mess. To learn more about what is needed for a strong, fair plan, click HERE.
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