The La Cañada Flintridge City Council heard an update on local air quality by listening to a presentation from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley.
SCAQMD Governing Board Vice Chair Michael Cacciotti opened the presentation to City Council, telling them, “You’re my boss in arguably the largest air pollution district in the nation — I represent the 34 cities in eastern L.A. County, [starting in] Claremount, all the way through La Cañada Flintridge, Burbank, Glendale and Santa Clarita. Two million people, 34 cities,” he said.
The SCAQMD was formed in the late ’70s to monitor air quality, and now, four counties are involved, representing 17 million people — 44% of the population of the entire state of California.
The main source of air pollution, Cacciotti explained, comes from mobile sources (80%) which includes oceangoing vessels, airplanes, trains, trucks, off-road equipment and automobiles. The other 20% comes from stationary sources like cleaners and solvents, paint, auto body shops, gas stations, power plants and industry, and oil refineries.
Cacciotti said that there are more than 225 commuter trains that travel through the Los Angeles basin every day, “and they’re all diesel powered, huge locomotives.”
Cars and light-duty trucks used to be the main source of air pollution in California, but there has been a change in the last year. Now, “off-road lawn equipment, leaf blowers and lawnmowers surpass cars and light-duty trucks as a source of pollution in California,” he said.
Cacciotti, who also has been a South Pasadena City Councilman since 2001, highlighted that the South Coast air basin does not meet federal clean air standards for two pollutants: Ozone and particulate matter. These two pollutants are what primarily drive smog in California.
Particulate matter combustion sources include cars, trucks, trains, ships, aircraft, certain types of facilities, meat cooking, residential wood burning and wildfires.
Ozone is formed when several gaseous pollutants react in the presence of sunlight. Most of these gases are emitted from mobile sources.
Cacciotti further explained the health problems that can come from pollution.
“We always knew pollution caused respiratory problems,” he said. “We now know [it causes] serious cardiovascular problems and nervous system problems. We’ve been doing tests with rats, which are 90% like us, in our freeways. And what happens is, it goes into their brain, and it causes an expression of genes. These genes that are, expressed as a neuroscientist will tell you, the same genes that cause Alzheimer’s in people.”
In better news, air pollution and air toxins have decreased since the ’90s. But Cacciotti said that if residents can improve air quality, there can be a chain effect of improvements to health and hospitalization numbers.
“We could reduce 1,500 premature deaths a year — especially among seniors — prevent hospitalizations from kids and adults from asthma, and we can prevent lost days from work or school,” said Cacciotti. “Finally, we could save billions of dollars in health costs [by] keeping people out of the hospital and reducing cancer risk.”
Cacciotti ended his presentation by sharing ways that residents could save money and make a change to more environmentally stable practices. He also brought an electric handheld leaf blower to demonstrate to the City Council.
Steps, such as applying for rebates, include: Residents can get up to $1,500 off if they get a CLEANair furnace rebate; residents can get up to $250 when switching to an electric lawnmower; residents can get $250 or more when getting a level 2 EV charger. For anyone looking to get rid of a “polluting car for a cleaner gas car or plug-in hybrid” or maybe a transit pass or e-bike, residents can apply to receive up to $9,500 off.
“I just want to say thank you, Michael, for all of your service, both in South Pasadena and as our AQMD rep. You’re clearly passionate and knowledgeable about this stuff. It’s inspirational,” said Mayor Keith Eich.
Councilman Kim Bowman also shared his thanks.
“Thank you for this work and for demonstrating a positive path forward, both as a city and your work in South Pas, but also with the broader regional work. We don’t have to invent too many wheels. We really just have to figure out to the point the best way to do it here in La Cañada,” said Bowman.
To learn more about the South Coast AQMD incentive programs, visit aqmd.gov/home/programs.
First published in the May 11 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
