Four communities near oil and gas production areas have been chosen to launch a program that will monitor air quality to determine if the nearby activity is having an impact, the California Air Resources Board announced. The communities—Lost Hills and McKittrick-Derby Acres in Kern County, and Baldwin Hills and South Los Angeles in Los Angeles County—are near historic oil regions.
It is well known that short and long-term exposure to air pollutants can contribute to negative health outcomes, including asthma, cardiovascular disease, and in some cases, cancer, the state agency said in its Sept. 7 announcement. Limited information exists, however, on how oil and gas extraction facilities affect air quality in neighboring communities, it added.
“Many Californians live in communities near oil and gas facilities, but we know very little about the impact of these facilities on their neighbors’ health,” CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols said. “We need up-to-date information to assess whether existing standards and regulations are effective, and to lay the groundwork for any needed improvements.”
CARB established the Study of Neighborhood Air near Petroleum Sources (SNAPS) program in November 2017 to help fill the gap, using a focused community-level approach. Fifty-six candidate communities were evaluated initially. The ones that were selected will host mobile air monitoring units for 3-4 months to identify and measure pollutants of concern. Community meetings also will be held to gather ideas, hear additional concerns, communicate results, and discuss solutions, the agency said.
“CARB recently adopted more stringent regulations requiring enhanced inspection of oil and gas operations including pump jacks. The rules require the use of technologies including chemical sniffers to better pinpoint and repair any leaks that are identified,” noted Richard W. Corey, the agency’s executive officer. “The SNAPS program will complement the regulation to better ensure oil and gas operations that impact nearby communities are identified and addressed.”
SNAPS also complements the Community Air Protection Program (CAPP)—established under AB 617, which Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed into law on July 26, 2017. The measure required CARB to select communities heavily affected by air pollution for focused actions—by providing additional capacity to evaluate the effects of oil and gas facilities in particular.
CARB said its board will meet on Sept. 17 to consider approving the agency’s staff’s first 10 community recommendations under CAPP. Two are Richmond in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is near refineries, and Shafter in the Southern San Jaoquin Valley, which has oil and gas activity nearby. Together, SNAPS and CAPP will provide focused, community-level action in 14 of California’s most polluted areas, the agency said.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].