Following Troubling Air Quality Report, Harder Presses EPA Administrator for Answers
2024 State of the Air Report gave San Joaquin County a failing grade for particle pollution, which contributes to asthma
Stockton named one of the nation’s top “Asthma Capitals” for 2023
Watch Rep. Harder Question EPA Administrator Michael Regan about air quality in San Joaquin County HERE.
WASHINGTON – After San Joaquin County received a “FAIL” for pollution related to smoke and other asthma-causing particles in a recent report, Rep. Josh Harder (CA-9) questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan about air quality. Rep. Harder’s questions focused on EPA’s efforts to improve air quality and build out the AirNow program to be a reliable and nationally consistent air quality monitoring and alert system. The proposed updates to AirNow are based on recommendations from the non-partisan Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission’s Report. The US Forest Service, Department of Interior, EPA, and National Weather Service (NWS) would work together to make improvements to existing systems and build out this smoke monitoring and alert system.
“As you know, my district is ranked one of the most polluted in the entire country. This is a major issue. I had childhood asthma as a kid. My brother had it. I don't want my two daughters to grow up with the same challenges that I had,” Rep. Harder said.
“One of the Commission's recommendations was to improve the EPA's air quality monitoring so people had real time alerts that there was a nationally consistent smoke monitoring system that could convey real information on poor air quality to the public,” Harder continued. “I'm working on legislation right now to expand those recommendations into law. But I'd love to hear from you about what you think we could do to help give resources to the EPA to Improve Air Now’s capacity to be a real state of the art resource for the public during smoke events.”
Administrator Regan affirmed that the EPA will be working to improve air quality, publicly accessible real-time data on air quality, and he acknowledged that wildfires are a growing threat to air quality. A full transcript of Rep. Harder’s questions and the Administrator’s responses is below.
Rep. Harder has been working to improve air quality and protect at-risk kids and other individuals with asthma. Harder has advocated for better air filtration systems in schools, worked to bolster fire prevention efforts, and pushed for better real-time air quality information so families can prepare for “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” air quality days.
The full clip of Rep. Harder’s line of questioning is available HERE and a transcript is below.
REP. HARDER: I'm going to focus my comments on an issue that we've talked about before, which is air quality in the Central Valley and especially air quality monitoring. The American Lung Association released their 2024 State of the Air Report and they found that last year was the worst year for air quality in 25 years for the number of days with hazardous or very unhealthy air quality. And as you know, my district is ranked one of the most polluted in the entire country.
This is a major issue. I had childhood asthma as a kid. My brother had it. I don't want my two daughters to grow up with the same challenges that I had. One source of this air pollution is catastrophic wildfires. And, as you know, Congress put together a Wildfire Mitigation and Management Commission that came out with a report last year that highlighted some issues of what we can do to deal with air quality and specifically air quality challenges coming from these wildfires.
One of the Commission's recommendations was to improve the EPA's air quality monitoring so people had real time alerts that there was a nationally consistent smoke monitoring system that could convey real information on poor air quality to the public.
I'm working on legislation right now to expand those recommendations into law. But I'd love to hear from you about what you think we could do to help give resources to the EPA to Improve Air Now’s capacity to be real, a real state of the art resource for the public during smoke events.
ADMINISTRATOR REGAN: Well, thank you for that question. And yes, I think that the Commission's report has been very instructive to us. We do have a very complicated air monitoring system across the country. We do have the Air Now system which you know is on mobile apps or laptops, where parents can take a look at that and see what the air quality is to know if they want to send their kid to a soccer game or go out jogging and such.
And so we feel really good about a robust air quality monitoring system. One of the things that we have requested in this budget that seems to be continually ignored or getting struck down or saying the EPA is trying to grow itself is developing the technological capabilities, right? We know we're going to have wildfires. We know that our forestry system needs to use prescribed burns. So we have to do a better job of understanding where the air pollution as a result is coming from and how we protect public health.
This Commission that you referred to has been extremely helpful, and you will see in our budget resource request specifically to enhance our air quality, air quality monitoring capabilities and our ability to share that information nationwide. It used to be that these wildfires were just on the West Coast. Now we're seeing them in North Carolina and we’re seeing wildfires come from Canada. So we need those investments, both technology and people to keep the American public safe.
REP. HARDER: Thank you. Well, I look forward to advocating for those resources to go to the EPA. I think it's absolutely imperative that we upgrade Air Now's capacity to be a real time resource. I think it's great what the mobile app does today. But as the Commission highlighted, it's not enough.
There's opportunities to improve, and I think EPA can be a real leader towards getting that real time directly to the public so folks can make informed decisions about when they go outside, where they go and making sure they're keeping their kids safe.
The second question that I wanted to focus on is in my district we have a national laboratory experimental test site known as Site 300. This was created many, many decades ago when it was all just a bunch of farmland around. Now, there's been major residential development over the last few decades. In fact, my own home is just a few miles away from this experimental test site, and to protect some of the workers in nearby residents, EPA came out with, and commented on the draft Environmental Impact Study for Lawrence Livermore Lab to add air quality monitoring – air quality monitoring facilities. So folks had a good sense of some of the radiological constituents and criteria pollutants.
Can you walk me through the timeline for implementing those air monitors? What is actually necessary to make sure that they are actually installed so cities like Mountain House and Tracy have real information about what's going on in this experimental test site?
ADMINISTRATOR REGAN: Well, thank you for that question. And you know, there are air monitors currently at that site. I do want to be clear that EPA is providing oversight over the Department of Energy. Long-term investment and clean up of the site, so they're in the driver's seat. We're in that advisory capacity. The timeline question and those next steps, I would say that DOE is in a better position to answer that question.
REP. HARDER: We’ll follow up with them but you did recommend – or the EPA Region 9 – did recommend additional air quality monitoring facilities for the EIS. That came out pretty recently. Do you have any sense of when that would happen, or that's a TBD?
ADMINISTRATOR REGAN: I know that Secretary Granholm and I have a great working relationship. They have been very receptive to our recommendations. I'm quite certain that we're as I understand it working in full partnership. Again in terms of the total receipt of those recommendations from one agency to the other and the timing for the implementation of those recommendations, I'd have to to leave that to DOE. We would not want to get in front of them on that.
REP HARDER: OK, Well, I agreed with the EPA recommendations. I think additional air quality monitoring makes perfect sense in that site, and we'll look forward to working with you to make that happen. Thank you.
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