Date
Wednesday, October 02, 2019
Today the Air District's Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve the community action plan, Owning Our Air: The West Oakland Community Action Plan, co-authored by the Air District and the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project.
Owning Our Air lays out a series of strategies and measures to be implemented over the next five years by state, regional. and local agencies to further air pollution reductions in West Oakland.
The next step in the community action plan process will be a public hearing of the California Air Resources Board to be held in West Oakland on December 5, 2019, to consider the plan and its approval.
West Oakland is bounded by the Port of Oakland, the Union Pacific rail yard, and the I-580, I-880, and I-980 freeways. Elevated levels of air pollution in West Oakland are the result of concentrated industrial activity, including maritime freight, a rail yard and rail lines, large distribution centers, cement and asphalt plants, a power plant, metal facilities, and small to medium industrial and manufacturing operations. Trucks, cars, and the road dust they generate also contribute to elevated emission levels.
The plan was developed as a requirement of AB 617, a state law passed concurrently with re-authorization of California’s cap-and-trade program, the centerpiece of the state’s efforts to reduce climate change. AB 617 recognizes that while California has seen tremendous improvement in air quality, not all communities have benefited equally, and some communities located close to freeways, ports, industry, or other large pollution sources need additional focus and resources to reduce exposure levels.
A copy of the Owning Our Air plan, a plan summary, and appendices can be viewed and downloaded online on the Air District's West Oakland Community Action Plan web page.
View press release.
Last Updated: 10/2/2019