Press Release
May 6, 2021
The Warehouse Indirect Source Rule would regulate the air pollution frontline communities are burdened with due to the warehouse and logistics industry
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Stefanie Lao,
[email protected]| 424.282.0922
LOS ANGELES, CA— The California Environmental Voters (EnviroVoters) called on the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) Governing Board to pass the warehouse indirect source rule—that regulates facilities which are an indirect source of air pollutants as they don’t emit the air pollutants directly, but they do attract cars and diesel trucks that contribute to the pollutants—to address the pollution caused by warehouses ahead of the Board’s official vote tomorrow morning. The new rule would require warehouses to select emissions reduction projects and report key data necessary to improve air quality in the region made from truck emissions that make deliveries and pickups at the facilities.
With thousands of high-diesel trucks coming through warehouses in the district every day, the warehouse and logistics industry has become one of the largest sources of air pollution in the South Coast AQMD, harming low-income, communities of color across Southern California. If passed, the warehouse indirect source rule would decisively address the burden frontline communities face from the dangerous health risks posed by the warehouse and logistics industry.
“The warehouse and logistics industry has gone unregulated for far too long, prioritizing profits over people and leaving frontline communities to grapple with the health impacts of air pollution,” said Mary Creasman, CEO of the California Environmental Voters. “The warehouse indirect source rule would finally implement the steps needed to reduce emissions and hold industry polluters accountable for their role in worsening the region’s air quality. We call on the South Coast AQMD Governing Board to pass this life-saving rule and take necessary action towards cleaning our air.”
With the Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles in the district, frontline communities are disproportionately burdened with the impacts from living in the logistics and shipping hub of the West Coast. Additionally, the district is the dry shipping hub of the West Coast as most products that come into the U.S. from China are flown into Ontario International Airport. Due to the rise in e-commerce in recent decades, the emissions that come from transporting goods have resulted in worsening air quality for a region with predominantly low-income, communities of color. According to the American Lung Association, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties are the first and second most ozone-polluted counties in the country respectively.
“Years in the making and through the hard work of clean air organizers across the South Coast Air District, the indirect source rule will be one of the most consequential air quality rules of our generation,” said Matt Abularach-Macias, EnviroVoters Campaigns & Organizing Manager and member of the San Bernardino / Muscoy AB 617 Community Steering Committee. “Today, the South Coast AQMD Board has the opportunity to establish a new and lasting legacy of truly protecting community health by addressing the known pollution burdens of warehouses in already overburdened neighborhoods through passage of the indirect source rule.”
For more information, the Warehouses, Pollution, and Social Disparities report from advocates with the People’s Collective for Environmental Justice (PC4EJ) and students at the University of Redlands is available.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL VOTERS
California Environmental Voters (formerly the California League of Conservation Voters) believes the climate crisis is here and this moment requires transformative change. California has the policy solutions to stop climate change but lacks the political will to do it at the rate and scale that’s necessary. EnviroVoters exists to build the political power to solve the climate crisis, advance justice, and create a roadmap for global action. We organize voters, elect and train candidates, and hold lawmakers accountable for bold policy change. We won’t stop until we have resilient, healthy, thriving communities, and a democracy and economy that is just and sustainable for all. Join us at www.envirovoters.org and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See more press releases.
