Calexico, El Centro, Heber

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Overview

The Calexico, El Centro, and Heber community is in the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD). The communities of Calexico, El Centro and Heber represent an industrial corridor that extends north from the U.S.-Mexico border. The community bears a high traffic density burden as well as impacts from agriculture and stationary source emissions.

The Calexico, Heber, El Centro community has an area of 158 square miles with a population of about 98,000. In 2017, an average of 12,080 passenger vehicles crossed the border into Calexico per day. Additionally, there are two large stationary sources in the community, a power generation facility and a cement facility, along with warehouses and small industrial operations. Agricultural activities, unpaved roads, and animal feedlots are additional sources in this region, along with a rail line that runs between the three areas. Sensitive receptors in the community include 52 schools, 43 licensed daycare facilities, and 1 hospital. The community experiences some of the highest rates of poverty and unemployment in the region, and the rate of pediatric asthma-related emergency rooms visits is twice the State average.

Community Boundary

Image displaying the Calexico, El Centro, Heber AB 617 boundaries

Calexico, El Centro, Heber's AB 617 community boundary files

Community Air Monitoring

In 2018, the Community was nominated by the District and selected by CARB as a monitoring community. The District published the Imperial County Year 1 Community Air Monitoring Plan for the El Centro-Heber-Calexico Corridor in September 2019.

The Community Air Monitoring Plan identifies areas of interest for AB 617 monitoring such as stationary and mobile sources, monitoring site locations, sampling schedules, and types of equipment and strategies. The plan was designed to obtain detailed air pollution levels through the Community, determine areas in the community of highest risk, quantify sources of air pollution within the community, and to position the Community to develop emissions reduction strategies and monitor the effectiveness of those strategies.

CARB and the District have historically implemented air monitoring which includes regulatory monitoring in Imperial County. The AB 617 community air monitoring plan is specifically designed with the community steering committee input to measure and collect localized and elevated air pollution levels data. The District considered health statistics, air quality concerns from residents in multiple communities, as well as screening tools that combine environmental, health, and socio-economic information to calculate community-wide risk factors in the planning and implementation of community air monitoring. Community-level expertise through steering committee meetings and input from a broad range of stakeholders supported the District's development of this plan.

The collection of comprehensive air quality data is essential to develop emissions reduction plans and strategies. The monitoring data will be provided to CARB once available and can be downloadable on AQView where monitoring data from other AB 617 community air monitoring plans are also included.

Community Emissions Reduction Program

The Imperial County Air Pollution Control District (ICAPCD) partnered with Comite Civico del Valle, Inc. (CCV) as co-leads to convene a community steering committee and develop the Imperial County Year 1 Community Emissions Reduction Program Plan for the El Centro-Heber-Calexico Corridor (Plan). Prior to the Board of Supervisors’ approval of the Plan, ICAPCD and CCV also hosted two workshops in June 2019 to allow the public to have an opportunity to learn about the requirements and implementation of AB 617, local and state agency roles, as well as the development of the Plan. During these meetings, the community steering committee helped identify key community concerns for the Plan to address, including:

  • Truck idling and traffic (specifically, border-related);
  • Windblown dust;
  • Agricultural activities; and
  • Vulnerable population’s exposure to pollution.

The Plan focuses on reducing exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and toxic air contaminants (TACs) from these sources. The community steering committee, ICAPCD, and CCV identified 28 emission reduction strategies

Community Engagement

Image of a Calexico, El Centro, Heber Community Steering Committee meeting

Community engagement is a key part of the AB 617 program. Air districts are responsible for convening a community steering committee using an open and transparent nomination process. Community steering committees create new, and foster existing, local partnerships which drive the AB 617 program. In this advisory role, community steering committees oversee the development and implementation of the program such as in community identification, community air monitoring, and community emissions reduction programs. The steering committee aims to identify metrics, track progress, solicit, and share information with the Calexico, El Centro, Heber community. The current Community Steering Committee was selected representing a diverse range of community viewpoints.

The current Community Steering Committee charter describes the Calexico, El Centro, Heber Community Steering Committee membership process, how meetings are conducted, and how information is made available to its members and the public.

Annual Implementation Progress

Annual progress reports are completed by the District. Qualitative and quantitative progress assessments as well as status updates from interim milestones identified by the CARB Governing Board are available in the annual progress report and accompanying metric workbooks. A detailed update for each strategy can also be found here as it is made available.

Additional Resources