Original 10 Environmental Justice Initiatives
- Launch a series of monthly
"town hall"
meetings in evenings and on weekends to give the public better access to AQMD
officials and "improve citizen involvement" in air quality policies.
- Embark upon the first comprehensive study of toxic hot spots in a decade. In addition, create two
"special micro-scale monitoring" devices to measure neighborhood toxic
levels.
- Create "community response teams" to
respond to chronic community concerns that, while not immediately
life-threatening, may have long-term impacts.
- Step up review of environmental impact
reports on projects that may impair air quality, and increase support for
local governments making land-use decisions.
- Create a task force with
representatives of business, environmental and community groups as well as
board members to seek consensus on solutions to environmental justice
concerns and make recommendations to the Governing Board. An Environmental
Justice Task Force was formed.
- Participate in the City of Los
Angeles’ Environmental Justice Forum.
- Create incentives to clean-up or
remove diesel engines in the basin. Diesel exhaust is associated with a
variety of toxic and cancer health effects and is a major smog contributor.
- Spend up to $150,000 to buy better
equipment to help inspectors responding to citizen complaints.
- Propose new guidelines to ensure that
the 4,400 portable engines operating in AQMD’s jurisdiction don’t create
localized adverse air quality impacts, especially next to schools and
hospitals.
- Review AQMD’s two toxic air contaminant
rules to determine if more chemicals should be covered, whether the rules’
health risk thresholds triggering safeguards need to be changed or any other
approaches to reduce toxic risks need to be considered.
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