OFFICE TO TACKLE CLIMATE, POLLUTION

County to focus on environmental disparities affecting communities

A new county office will focus on areas of San Diego most affected by pollution, health disparities and the effects of climate change, the County Board of Supervisors decided Wednesday.

In a unanimous vote, the board agreed to create an office of climate and environmental justice within its land use and environmental group. It will work with the San Diego Air Pollution Control District and other agencies to address air pollutants, toxins, hazardous waste and other risks to sensitive populations.

“Communities around the region have been impacted by the unjust consequences of toxins, discriminatory land use and air pollution,” said Supervisor Nora Vargas, who brought the item before the board. “Disastrous policies have also aggravated the effects of pollution perpetuated by environmental racism. This has resulted in generations of residents living with negative health outcomes, from asthma to cancer.”

The office will coordinate with the San Diego Air Pollution Control District, San Diego Association of Governments, city governments and other agencies to address high pollution areas and make sure that efforts to address climate change don’t come at the expense of poor and minority communities.

“Climate change will continue to affect our region, from extreme weather to sea level rise, to extended drought and wildfire seasons,” the staff report stated. “We must also ensure that these changes are reviewed with considerations that do not disproportionately affect historically marginalized or underserved communities.”

Vargas also cited a number of San Diego communities that bear a higher burden of pollution. Parts of north El Cajon, North Lemon Grove, Spring Valley and Sweetwater are identified in the county General Plan as having higher exposure to industrial hazardous waste and

higher air pollution than other areas of the county, she stated.

Other parts of the county also face elevated environmental risks, she said.

In Oceanside, the American Lung Association has reported that 4 out of 10 people live in neighborhoods where the air is often dangerous to breathe, Vargas said. Barrio Logan and National City rank in the highest 5 percent of California communities in terms of diesel air pollution and have children’s asthma hospitalization rates that are three times the county average.

Meanwhile south San Diego communities face high air emissions from border traffic, as well as water contamination from Tijuana River Valley waste, she said. Many of these communities also lack access to fresh food, safe housing and open space, the staff report stated.

Other supervisors endorsed the office as an important step to ensuring environmental health for San Diegans.

“I think everybody in San Diego County should have clean air, clean water and a clean environment,” Supervisor Jim Desmond said.

“I’m so excited my colleague brought it forward,” said Supervisor Terra Lawson-remer, adding that earlier in her career she worked with a community that suffered elevated cancer rates related to environmental hazards.

The county’s administrative officer will recruit a fulltime director and additional staff for the office and include those new positions in the 2021-2022 budget. The county also will create steering committees in North El Cajon, North Lemon Grove, Spring Valley and Sweetwater to address environmental justice issues in each community.

The new office will cost about $1.3 million per year, according to the staff report.