Tag Archive for: Air Pollution

(L to R) SDG&E EV Customer Solutions Manager Lianna Lienau, Helix Division 2 Director Andrea Beth Damsky, Helix Board Vice President Joel A. Scalzitti, Helix Board President Dan McMillan, Helix Division 3 Director Mark Gracyk, Helix Division 4 Director Kathleen Coates Hedberg, and San Diego County Air Pollution Control District Chief of Emissions Reductions Kathleen Keehan at the groundbreaking for the Helix electrification project at its El Cajon operations center. Photo: Helix Water District

Helix Water District Working Toward Zero-Emission Future

As part of its initiative to transition to a zero-emission vehicle fleet, Helix Water District leaders broke ground in late March on a retrofitting project at the district’s operations center in El Cajon.

The $11 million project, which is almost entirely grant-funded, will increase electrical capacity and charging infrastructure needed for the transition at its operations center in El Cajon. The facility will also support other East County public agencies as they work towards electrifying their own vehicle fleets. 

Helix Preparing to Meet New California Requirements

Helix Water District purchased its first EV truck in 2022. Photo: Helix Water District

Helix Water District purchased its first EV truck in 2022. Photo: Helix Water District

While all new passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs sold in California will be zero-emission by 2035, the state wants government agencies with vehicle fleets to get to zero emissions more quickly. By 2027, all new medium and heavy-duty truck purchases must be zero-emission vehicles.

The district’s fleet of vehicles is used by employees responsible for maintaining 742 miles of pipeline, valves, hydrants, and meters. While the Helix Water District first began purchasing electric vehicles in 2022 as part of its overall sustainability efforts, its current infrastructure requires upgrades to support an electric-only vehicle fleet.

“The Helix board of directors voted 5-0 to approve this project because this is the next step on the path we’ve chosen for our agency,” said board member Mark Gracyk.

“We have already reduced our energy use by 15% and our carbon footprint by 40%. This project will be a model for other agencies working to electrify their fleets and help the cities we serve meet their climate action plan goals.”

In addition to the major change in operations, the Helix Water District must maintain 24/7 readiness for emergency responses, with a vehicle fleet that requires time to recharge.

Partner Collaboration Makes Helix Project Possible

Helix Water District will work with SDG&E and the San Diego Air Pollution Control District to complete its project. Photo: Helix Water District

Helix Water District will work with SDG&E and the San Diego Air Pollution Control District to complete its project. Photo: Helix Water District

Retrofitting the district’s operations center to increase electrical capacity and installing the new infrastructure presented challenges. The Helix project team moved quickly to secure outside expertise and funding to get ahead of other public agencies in California competing for resources.

Through funding and technical support from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District and San Diego Gas & Electric, Helix is ready to begin construction. The organizations guided the district through idea gathering, planning, designing, and equipment selection. The collaboration will continue through construction.

“This charging infrastructure project is particularly impactful for air quality in the area because the communities serviced by the Helix Water District have some of the highest levels of air pollution in San Diego County. SDAPCD looks forward to the full implementation of this project,” said Paula Forbis, Air Pollution Control Officer, San Diego County Air Pollution Control District.

“Our collaboration with Helix Water District and the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District exemplifies the power of partnerships in driving our progress to meeting California’s climate goals,” added Miguel Romero, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, SDG&E.

Helix Effort Meets Climate Action Plan Goals

The district’s fleet of vehicles is used by employees responsible for maintaining 742 miles of pipeline, valves, hydrants, and meters. Photo: Helix Water District Zero-emission

The district’s fleet of vehicles is used by employees responsible for maintaining 742 miles of pipeline, valves, hydrants, and meters. Photo: Helix Water District

Vehicle emissions are one of the highest sources of pollution in San Diego County. For this reason, SDAPCD considers the shift from diesel to electric vehicles one of the most impactful ways to improve air quality.

According to SDG&E, Helix Water District’s plan to transition 86 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and install nearly six megawatts of charging infrastructure aligns with SDG&E’s mission to support public agencies and fleet operators in meeting California’s Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) regulation and local climate action plan goals.

Helix received a $5.2 million grant from the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, a $2.2 million grant from San Diego Gas & Electric’s Power Your Drive for Fleets Program and an additional $1.5 million through the Disadvantaged Community Electric Vehicle Charger Rebate Program. The district will fund the remaining $2 million.

“We understood early on the impact that the state’s advanced clean fleet regulation would have on the district. The cost associated with projects of this size are significant and we did not want this to impact the communities we serve, many of which are low-income communities,” said Dan McMillan, board president of the Helix Water District.

“I want to thank, on behalf of the district, San Diego Gas & Electric and the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District for their financial support. Collaboration is the only way we can move projects like this forward.”

The electrification project will take approximately one year to complete.

Coachella Valley Residents Struggle to Breathe as Polluting Dust Increases

Outside her home in Riverside County, near the north shore of the Salton Sea, Sara Renteria is struggling to breathe. She has to speak in short sentences, and pauses often to take a breath.

When she was diagnosed with asthma as an adult about five years ago, Renteria said her doctor gave her a choice: Leave her home in the Coachella Valley or take an array of medications to treat her condition. It was the air, he told her, that worsened her asthma.

UCD: A Drying Salton Sea Pollutes Neighboring Communities

When desert winds stir up dust from the Salton Sea’s exposed lakebed, nearby communities suffer from increased air pollution. The deterioration coincides with reduced flows into California’s largest lake, a new research paper in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics finds.

Disadvantaged communities have been affected more than others in the areas near the Salton Sea, which has been shrinking for years, said the paper’s co-leading author Eric Edwards. He is an assistant professor of agricultural economics at UC Davis, who did the research while at North Carolina State University.

A Drying Salton Sea: Research Finds Higher Particulate Pollution After Water Diverted to San Diego

When desert winds stir up dust from the Salton Sea’s exposed lakebed, nearby communities suffer from increased air pollution. The deterioration coincides with reduced flows into California’s largest lake, finds a new research paper in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

Carbon Dioxide in Atmosphere Reaches New High Despite Pandemic, Scripps Reports

Atmospheric carbon dioxide measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory peaked for 2021 in May at a monthly average of 419 parts per million, the highest level since accurate measurements began 63 years ago, Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego reported Monday.

Scripps scientist Charles David Keeling initiated on-site measurements of carbon dioxide atop the volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii in 1958. NOAA began measurements in 1974, and the two research institutions have made complementary, independent observations ever since.

Tensions Rise Over Red Hill Bay in Part III of Hearing

Tensions grew in a series of back-and-forth exchanges between attorneys for the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District and the Imperial Irrigation District regarding the Red Hill Bay project site during a third day of hearings over an air-pollution violation order against the district.

A hearing board met Friday, Feb. 19, for the third part of its hearing to discuss a petition from Air Pollution Control Officer Matt Dessert for an order for abatement against the district for violations of air district rules and regulations. An order for abatement is an enforcement action that requires an owner or operator who is out of compliance to take specific action to get back into compliance with air district rules.

County Supervisors Declare Public Health Crisis in Tijuana River Valley

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to declare pollution at the Tijuana River Valley a public health crisis.

Supervisor Nora Vargas said the action is needed because of the decades-long contamination of River Valley, which has resulted in environmental and health damage. According to the county, the region has long suffered from poor air quality, sewage leaks, waste from industrial plants, tire waste, plastic pollution, sediment, and trash.

Tired of Waiting on Salton Sea Fixes, Desert Shores Residents Take a Stand

These days, the house where Donna and John Winters planned to retire in the Southern California desert reflects in a stagnant pool of blood red water, their dream home becoming something of a nightmare.

Trump Signs Spending Bill That Could Send Millions of Dollars to the Salton Sea

President Donald Trump on Sunday signed a roughly $900 billion stimulus package meant to tackle both COVID-19 relief as well as federal spending. Tucked in the 5,593-page-long law, courtesy of Southern California Democrats, are provisions that hold the potential to unlock millions of dollars of new federal spending to address the Salton Sea.

The bill notably modifies the Water Resources Development Act by authorizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expedite a study on the feasibility of constructing a perimeter lake around the Salton Sea. It’s one of the large-scale plans floated to address the lake’s woes, and this move could speed up the process.

The law also includes more than $150 million for the Army Corps to carry out such studies on water issues at the Salton Sea and elsewhere.

Will California Finally Fulfill its Promise to Fix the Salton Sea?

Red flags flutter outside the schools in Salton City, California, when the air quality is dangerous. Dust billows across the desert, blanketing playgrounds and baseball diamonds, the swirling grit canceling recess and forcing students indoors. Visibility is so poor you can’t see down the block. Those days worry Miriam Juarez the most.