Events
Engaging the public throughout the development and implementation of AB 617 will be paramount. The District plans to host a series of workshops, public meetings, and community forums to educate the public, yet more importantly, to solicit suggestions and feedback on a wide variety of issues, including allocation of funds, identifying communities for potential enhanced monitoring and action plan development.
See all AB 617 Related EventsUpcoming Events
Regular District Meetings
Related Workshops
Funding
AB 617 and the recent Cap and Trade extension legislation is expected to bring significant additional funds to the Valley to help reduce emissions and improve public health in disadvantaged communities. Learn about qualifying projects, impacted communities and investment priorities.
Read About AB 617 FundingGrants Program
The District also administers an existing comprehensive incentive-based grants program to reduce emissions throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
Contact
You can contact the Valley Air District about any AB617 related issues or questions.
559-230-6000
Ask for Jessica Olsen, Stephanie Ng or Heather Heinks
The City of Arvin and nearby Lamont are part of a small, rural community in Southeast Kern County, and have long been recognized as one of the most air quality impacted areas of the Valley. A number of heavily trafficked highways pass nearby, including Hwy 184 and Hwy 223, contributing to overall emissions in the community. The community is also surrounded by agricultural operations, industrial sources, and emissions traveling downwind from the City of Bakersfield to the northwest.
Stockton is the largest metropolitan area in the Northern Region of the District, with a current estimated population over 310,000. A number of heavily trafficked freeways pass through the City of Stockton, including interstate 5 and highways 99 and 4, contributing a significant amount of PM2.5 emissions in the community. Specifically, Southwest Stockton is a densely populated community within the City of Stockton directly impacted by large freeways, the Port of Stockton, freight locomotives, industrial sources, and emissions traveling downwind from the northern portion of the city.
The community of Fresno is the largest metropolitan area in the San Joaquin Valley, the fifth largest city in California, and is the largest inland city in California. The current estimated population for Fresno is over 530,000. A number of heavily trafficked freeways transverse through the City of Fresno, including highways 99, 41, 180, and 168, contributing a significant amount to the mobile source emissions in the community. In addition to the area-wide sources of pollution, the large population in the area also contributes to emissions from a variety of consumer products. The southwest portion of Fresno also includes a number of industrial sources of emissions. Specifically, South Central Fresno is a densely populated community within the City of Fresno, and is downwind of emissions from the northern portion of Fresno. This community also includes the major roadways of Highways 180 and 41, and their interchange. In addition, emissions reductions in this southern community of Fresno will improve air quality in other communities and cities downwind from the Fresno urban area. This defined community in Fresno also includes the disadvantaged areas of Calwa and Malaga.
As a rural area, Shafter will complement the urban area selection of Fresno to form a more balanced initial year of AB 617 implementation. The rural community of Shafter in Kern County has a current estimated population of over 19,000, and is influenced by rural sources of emissions, including the agricultural and oil and gas production industries. In addition, major roadways in the community include Highway 43 and the Lerdo Highway, both crossing directly through Shafter and contributing to mobile source emissions in the area. Locomotive emissions also influence the community as railroad tracks run parallel to Highway 43. Local area-wide sources such as gas stations, commercial cooking, and consumer products also contribute to the community’s emissions levels. Due to this, the community emissions reduction plans that will be developed for all of the recommended selected areas in the Valley will include strategies that address both urban sources of emissions as well as rural sources that contribute to Shafter’s air quality challenges.
For assistance or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us