PSR-LA's Current Air Quality Work

GREEN LA

PSR-LA is part of GREEN LA’s Port Work Group. The Port Work Group is advocating that the city of Los Angeles:

1) Adopt, implement and enforce a comprehensive plan for the Port of Los Angeles and related goods movement system;

2) Ensure that the benefits of goods movement outweigh costs through independent cost-benefit analyses; and

3) Prevent or fully mitigate off-port community impacts by adopting land-use policies that protect health.

A recent accomplishment of PSR-LA’s goods movement advocacy was to organize and submit a health professional sign-on letter which advocated for the expedient implementation of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach’s Clean Air Action Plan. PSR-LA gathered over 30 signatures from doctors, medical students and health professionals from the Los Angeles area and submitted the letter to Los Angles Mayor Villaraigosa and Long Beach Mayor Robert Foster.

In November 2007 PSR-LA organized a media advocacy training for area doctors and health professionals on the power of the physician voice to advocate for policy change in the air quality arena.

I-710 Corridor

PSR-LA is a founding member of the Coalition for Environmental Health and Justice (CEHAJ), a coalition of community-based, health, environmental and environmental justice organizations dedicated to advancing and promoting demands for health, clean air, and improved quality of life along the I-710 Long Beach Freeway Corridor.

In 2001, local and state government agencies began the I-710 Major Corridor Study to look at options for expanding the 710 Long Beach Freeway. In response to an outpouring of opposition from residents and advocates government agencies created a system for community input, known as Tier I and Tier 2 Community Advisory Committees.

In August of 2004, the Tier 2 Committee completed a report which included a number of recommendations for the proposed I-710 project including health, economic development, safety, noise, congestion, community enhancements, design concepts, environmental justice and process. The major finding of the report was that health is the overriding consideration for the community and that air emissions must be cleaned up prior to any new construction or infrastructure projects being approved.

The Tier 2 report also outlined several recommendations for approval of any major infrastructure improvements. Specifically, the report challenged project planners to meet two conditions related to air quality prior to breaking ground on the I-710 project:

• Implementation of a corridor level action plan to improve air quality.

PSR-LA and CEHAJ are currently advocating at the local level for the development and implementation of the 710 corridor-level Air Quality Action Plan.

The coalition is also weighing in on the Environmental Impact Review and Environmental Impact Statement processes for the expansion of the I-710 freeway.