Press Release

Valley Air Board Votes to Delay Clean Air,
Rejects Solutions Proposed by Community

FRESNO, CALIFORNIA (April 30, 2007) - In a decision that endangers the health and economy of the Central Valley, the San Joaquin Valley Pollution Control District voted today to delay a federally-mandated smog clean-up by over a decade – until 2024. Community groups and air quality advocates, who offered viable alternatives that would achieve clean air faster, vowed to continue the fight.

“The board’s decision to delay clean air by over a decade means a child born today will have to wait until high school graduation to breathe clean air,” said Lisa Kayer-Grant, of Moms Clean Air Network. “This is an outrage.”

More than 150 community members packed the Air District Board’s offices in Fresno, Modesto and Bakersfield for the vote on whether to approve a plan for delay, which was prepared by District staff. Public testimony lasted more than four hours with 94 speakers addressing the board.

Before the vote, dozens of representatives from the Central Valley Air Quality (CVAQ) Coalition, dressed in black to symbolize the deaths a delay would likely cause, pointed out the flaws in the plan and urged the elected Board members to direct staff to develop a faster, thorough plan for clean air. Instead, the Board voted to move forward with the proposal to reclassify the area to Extreme Non-Attainment. The reclassification allows the District to delay cleaning up smog until 2023.

Shortly after 7 p.m., the board voted 9-2 to approve the staff plan, with just two board members, Raji Brar of Arvin and Henry T. Perea of Fresno, voting against.

“We were pleased that two of the Board members shared our impatience about cleaning up the air without an unnecessary delay” said Sarah Sharpe of the Coalition for Clean Air. “It’s just unfortunate that the rest of the Board is apparently satisfied enough with our reputation as having the dirtiest air in the country.” Advocates also noted that dirty air costs taxpayers more than $3 billion every year.

The Board also made a commitment to review a “dual path” towards attainment of the smog standard, but this other plan lacks any legal commitment to achieve clean air goals. Air advocates had asked the Board to include the stronger measures from this “dual path” in their official plan, citing the importance of having all possible measures included in the legally-binding plan.

“If the Board was serious about reaching their goals, they would have made solid commitments to take every measure possible to protect Valley families,” said Carolina Simunovic, of Fresno Metro Ministry. “We will hold them accountable to what they have committed to in their plan.”

The Central Valley Air Quality (CVAQ) coalition is a partnership of more than 70 community, medical, public health, environmental and environmental justice organizations representing thousands of residents in the San Joaquin Valley that are unified in their commitment to improve the health of Californians by (a) seeking full and vigorous enforcement of the federal Clean Air Act in the San Joaquin Valley, (b) strengthening State law and District regulations relating to air quality, and (c) educating the public about the serious health impacts of air pollution.

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