Bill on Governor’s desk to increase funding for Imperial County air pollution projects
SACRAMENTRO – If signed into law this month by Gov. Jerry Brown, Assembly Bill 1945 would increase the daytime population of Imperial County by including incoming commuters from Mexico, making the county eligible to receive more funding through the California Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
AB 1945, introduced by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia on Jan. 28, was passed by the state Senate on Aug. 29 and by the state Assembly on Aug. 30. Brown now has until Sept. 30 to sign the bill into law. The bill was co-authored by Assembly Member Gonzalez Fletcher.
“Over the years, cross-border pollution from Mexico has heavily contributed to the unique set of air quality challenges facing Imperial County residents,” Garcia told Imperial Valley Press on Wednesday evening via email. “AB 1945 will break down barriers in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund application process and better position our region to receive their fair share of climate investments. Increasing the accessibility of these resources will empower our community with the means to combat the pollution jeopardizing their public health and overall wellbeing.”
The bill aims to make accessing GGRF funds more equitable and viable, according to Garcia. GGRF expenditures are overseen by the California Air Resources Board on behalf of the state Department of Finance.
“The success of AB 1945 will break down barriers and better position Imperial County to receive their fair share of climate investments,” Garcia said. “Increasing the accessibility of these resources will empower our region with the means to combat the unique air quality challenges that have jeopardized the public health and wellbeing of our community.”
Under current guidelines, GGRF funding is appropriated based on a methodology favoring densely populated communities. Although Imperial County rates high amongst California communities most affected by various sources of pollution, the county has received very little GGRF funding over the years based on its low population data, according to Linsey Dale, county public information officer.
“The ability to consider commuters from Mexico to mitigate air quality impacts from neighboring Mexicali will benefit Imperial County residents immensely,” District 5 Supervisor Ray Castillo, said in a press release. “The collaboration with Assemblyman Garcia and his staff on this bill has resulted in a positive impact to our county.”
Imperial County includes several disadvantaged communities and is one of the poorest counties in the state, suffering from unhealthy air pollution and more than double the state’s rate of asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalization for children, Castillo said in a letter sent in March to Garcia supporting AB 1945.
“Most of the county has a CalEnviroScreen percentile of 70 percent or higher, however we have received very little GGRF funding over the years, because the methodology used to appropriate funding and grade the grant applications favors communities that are densely populated,” Castillo said.
Imperial and San Diego counties, both of which would benefit from the passage of AB 1945, see about
200,000 people cross the international border into the United States each day. However, both counties are unable to count that daytime population in their applications for funding, meaning significant emissions reduction projects are not feasible because the funding for such projects cannot be justified with the population of residents permanently residing in the U.S., according to documents provided by Garcia’s office.
And, while the state Air Resources Board is charged with coordinating the GGRF programs on behalf of the Department of Finance, the board currently is not tracking and reporting applications received for funding. Such data could help decision makers understand where unmet funding needs are located, which is a goal of AB 1945.
If signed into law, the bill would become effective as of July 1, 2019.