South Central Fresno

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Overview

The South Central Fresno community is located in the center of the San Joaquin Valley in the SJVAPCD, and includes the communities of Calwa and Malaga. Sources that affect South Central Fresno include freight operations, industry, and freeways. The South Central Fresno community has a high cumulative air pollution exposure burden, a significant number of sensitive receptors, and includes census tracts that have been designated as disadvantaged communities. The San Joaquin Valley has been the focus of numerous air quality studies which lay the necessary foundation for the development of an emissions reduction program in this urban community, In addition, community air monitoring would provide additional data for understanding localized impacts within the recommended community as well as tracking progress in implementing the emissions reduction program. The community was also prioritized by the San Joaquin Valley’s AB 617 Environmental Justice Steering Committee.

The South Central Fresno community is approximately 29 square miles and has a population of approximately 97,000 people. The community is comprised of the downtown core and a mix of residential single-family homes. The industrial area is located in the southwest portion of the community and includes a fossil fuel electric power generation facility along with several other industrial sources. The community is also traversed by Highways 99, 41, and 180. The sensitive receptors in the community include 36 schools, 31 licensed daycare facilities, and 5 hospitals. The community has high asthma rates and cardiovascular disease impacts, along with high rates of poverty, unemployment, and linguistic isolation.

Community Boundary

Image displaying South Central Fresno's AB 617 community boundaries

South Central Fresno'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 Community Air Monitoring Plan: South Central Fresno AB 617 Community in July 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 Fresno 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 developing emissions reduction plans and strategies. The air quality monitoring data are being provided to CARB and are available on AQview, where monitoring data from other AB 617 community air monitoring plans are available as well.

Community Emissions Reduction Program

SJVAPCD convened a community steering committee and developed the Community Emissions Reduction Program: South Central Fresno (Program) in coordination and consultation with the community steering committee. At the request of the community steering committee, SJVAPCD also organized a community air monitoring subcommittee composed of community steering committee members interested in participating in more detailed discussions and planning regarding the Community Air Monitoring Plan. The Program focuses on reducing exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), toxic air contaminants (TAC), as well as oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Reduction strategies target a variety of sources including heavy-duty vehicles, passenger cars, residential wood burning activities, new industrial developments, and stationary sources of concern, such as power plants, glass manufacturing, and gas distribution facilities. The community steering committee and SJVAPCD identified 46 specific strategies that include community-centric investments, enhanced enforcement, increased outreach and training, cross-agency collaboration, and regulatory measures.

Community Engagement

Image of a South Central Fresno 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 South Central Fresno community. The current Community Steering Committee was selected representing a diverse range of community viewpoints.

The current Community Steering Committee charter describes the South Central Fresno 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