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We've made great progress cleaning our air. But as more and more people move to the area and our national air quality standards increase, so do the challenges for our region's air advocates, businesses and residents.
Here are the Cleaner Air Partnership's main priority work areas for 2006-2007:
Promote air-friendly planning for growth:
Three long-term regional plans are converging this year, each with huge air quality implications for our region. The Metropolitan Transportation Plan will dictate how we spend $30 billion on roads, transit and other transportation in the next two decades – a huge issue in a region where 70 percent of air pollution comes from mobile sources. But to retain our federal transportation funding, the transportation choices in that plan will also have to support a new regional air quality plan that shows how we'll meet stricter national health standards for ozone pollution. An air-friendly transportation plan is crucial – as is an air quality plan that recognizes and respects our regional economy.
The good news is that our region has already recognized this challenge – and responded by creating a proactive growth plan that also helps our air quality. The plan, called the Regional Blueprint smart-growth land-use plan, reduces per-household driving by moving jobs, homes and services closer together during growth. Regional officials are using the Blueprint plan and its growth map as the starting basis for our new transportation plan. The Cleaner Air Partnership encourages communities to uphold Blueprint principles during their own planning as well.
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Support incentives for pollution controls:
Financial incentives can help reduce the regulatory impact on businesses and prompt a shift to cleaner technology sooner than the law requires. The local SECAT program and state Carl Moyer program are two such incentive programs here.
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Expand and support regional membership:
The part of our region that does not meet federal ozone standards includes portions of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties. Regional input and assistance are crucial to create and enforce clean-air policies that protect both the economy and the environment.
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Public education and communication:
New information on health impacts helps drive stricter air pollution regulations all the time. Fortunately, there's plenty that both citizens and businesses can do to be proactive and help themselves.
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Air friendly freight and goods movement:
Movement of goods through California ports is expected to more than double in coming years – and Sacramento is at the crossroads of the state's goods-movement picture.
Interstate 5 and State Route 99 serve major north-south movement and Interstate 80 is a crucial east-west corridor serving the Bay Area and Port of Oakland. Our region is home to one of the West’s largest rail yards in Roseville, the Port of Sacramento and to the Mather Cargo Airport.
Growth in goods movement means more trucks, trains and planes moving through our region, potentially more economic opportunity – and more pollution to offset. We're tracking and commenting on studies and plans for goods movement that are progressing this year at both the state level and the local level.
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Maximize efficient road and transit use:
Increased transit ridership and more efficient use of existing roads via carpooling and other measures helps improve our air quality – and can help save money on new infrastructure as well.
How to help
How to get involved in the Partnership
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