State keen in air quality system
The California Air Resources Board is contemplating different options to improve how the state collects air quality through the state, especially in disadvantaged communities, and a possible answer for the agency originated in the Imperial Valley.
On Thursday, state officials from the Air Resources Board visited the Imperial Valley with the goal of familiarizing themselves with an air monitoring network initiated by local environmental organization Comite Civico del Valle, to learn about its potential and possibility of expanding the model to other parts of the state.
The IVAN (Identifying Violations in Affected Neighborhoods) network has 40 air monitors throughout the Valley which measure air quality and provides the community with real-time data to alert them when the air can pose a potential health hazard. Executive director of the California Air Resources Board Richard Corey, who was one of two officials who visited the area, said that the main goal of the tour of the Valley was to get a better grasp and understanding of the logistics of setting up the air monitors, the type of pollutants it tracks and how it is being used.
“We think that there is an opportunity for these types of networks to be implemented in other communities and even further expand it here,” Corey said.
Luis Olmedo, the executive director of Comite Civico del Valle who spearheaded the launch of the network, said that one of the reasons to bring CARB staff to learn about the IVAN network is to try to get the state agency to become a partner to ensure the project can continue for years to come.
“We made the (request) to Air Resources Board staff so they can help support the ongoing research,” Olmedo said.
He noted the funding the organization received from the National Institutes of Health to support the air monitoring network will cease in October, and want CARB to become an additional partner.
“We are asking for support and to be able to sustain this system for a period of time which is mutually beneficial as they can integrate data in the Air Resources Board regulatory framework. Having them here is a good step in the process.”
The tour organized by Comite Civico began on Thursday morning to allow ARB staff to be present for the IVAN air community steering committee, from there visited Brawley Union High School, San Diego State University-Imperial Valley Campus, Calexico, and the Salton Sea to learn about the different air quality challenges that different areas of the Valley face.
Assistant executive officer for environmental justice Veronica Eady said she had heard a lot about the network and came to the Valley to learn about how it can be used as a complementary tool. She noted she was impressed by the level of community involvement that has allowed the network to become a reality.
“It’s very unique and important that this kind of action comes from the bottom up and we take the lead of these communities. I definitely want to see improved air quality here, I want to see an ability to systematically identify where the threats are for us to be able to use the data to address them,” Eady said. “But also, I want to see this system replicated in communities around the state and that have similar challenges.”
Corey said he envisions the CARB strengthening the relationship with Comite Civico del Valle as it pertains to the air monitoring network.
“One of the reasons we’re having this visit is to talk with the team here about how we can strengthen our partnership and what can we learn from one another,” he said.
On a similar note, Olmedo said the CARB has always been supportive of their efforts. He noted that by coming to the Valley the CARB is taking a serious approach to other existing resources that can help the agency, such as citizen science initiatives like the air monitors.
“We’ve demonstrated that citizen science, through the low-cost sensor technologies, can complement the regulatory monitoring,” Olmedo said. “We’ve been effective in advocating it and raising the interest through the work we are doing and now other communities are demanding their governments to modernize their system.”