Air District Holds Community Health Protection Program Workshop

From The Bay Area Air Quality Management District: The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is hosting an informational workshop about the new Community Health Protection Program on Wednesday, January 31, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. at 375 Beale Street in San Francisco with staff from the California Air Resources Board and a panel of community experts.

At the workshop, the public will have an opportunity to speak to air quality and community experts to share ideas about addressing local air pollution and discuss community-level monitoring and planning in highly impacted Bay Area neighborhoods.

"The Air District is excited to work with communities and the California Air Resources Board to develop a shared vision and action plan to reduce air pollution in areas that need it the most,” said Jack Broadbent, executive officer of the Air District. “The Air District’s Community Health Protection Program will build upon our decades of work with communities to help identify additional solutions that will lead to measurable air quality improvements for Bay Area residents.”

Following the passage of AB 617, the Air District developed the Community Health Protection Program, a collaborative initiative with the California Air Resources Board and Bay Area communities focused on reducing air quality impacts in neighborhoods most affected by air pollution. This program will work in concert with California Air Resources Board statewide Community Air Protection Program.

AB 617 is the state law which was passed along with the re-authorization of California’s cap-and-trade program, the centerpiece of the state’s efforts to reduce climate change. The law recognizes that while California has seen tremendous improvement in air quality, not all communities have benefited equally. Some communities located close to freeways, ports, industry or other large pollution sources need additional focus and resources to reduce exposure levels.

AB 617 establishes a community-focused planning process, deployment of additional community air monitoring and targeted incentive funding to implement cleaner technologies. AB 617 also includes new requirements to accelerate the retrofit of pollution controls on older industrial equipment, increases penalty fees for industry and provides greater transparency and availability of emissions data.

The public can find more information about the Air District’s Community Health Protection Program at http://www.baaqmd.gov/AB617 or request information via email at AB617Info@baaqmd.gov. Information about statewide efforts are available on the California Air Resources Board website at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/communityair.gov.

Spanish interpretation will be available. Interpretation for other languages can be provided upon request at least 72 hours before the event. Contact Azibuike Akaba at aakaba@baaqmd.gov or 415.749.8603 to request interpretation.

Habrá interpretación al español disponible. El servicio de interpretación para otros idiomas estará disponible si se solicita al menos 72 horas antes del evento. Comuníquese con Azibuike Akaba en aakaba@baaqmd.gov o al 415-749-8603 para solicitar servicios de interpretación.

可提供西班牙語口譯服務。其他語言的口譯服務需要提前至少72小時申請。透過電郵
aakaba@baaqmd.gov 或撥打 415-749-8603 聯絡Azibuike Akaba申請口譯服務。

Magkakaroon ng interpretasyon sa Espanyol. Ibibigay ang interpretasyon para sa ibang mga wika kapag hiniling nang 72 oras bago ang event. Kontakin si Azibuike Akaba sa aakaba@baaqmd.gov o 415.749.8603 para humiling ng interpretasyon.

Sẽ có dịch vụ thông dịch tiếng Tây Ban Nha. Dịch vụ thông dịch cho các ngôn ngữ khác có thể được cung cấp theo yêu cầu ít nhất 72 giờ trước sự kiện. Xin liên hệ Azibuike Akaba tại aakaba@baaqmd.gov hay 415.749.8603 để yêu cầu dịch vụ thông dịch.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is the regional agency responsible for protecting air quality in the nine-county Bay Area. Connect with the Air District via Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Image Via Pixabay