VIP Takes State Environmental Officials on a Tour of West Stanislaus

Members of VIP, Catholic Charities, CVAQ, CalEPA, and CARB meet at Catholic Charities Stockton office to kick-off the North Valley Tour

On September 5th 2018 members of Valley Improvement Projects, Central Valley Air Quality Coalition (CVAQ), and Catholic Charities of Stockton hosted officials from the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Air Resources Board on a bus tour of the Port of Stockton, Patterson/West County area, and the Airport Neighborhood.

The “North Valley Tour” served as a reminder to these officials that the Modesto area ranks #7 in Ozone Pollution, #6 in Year Round Particulate Pollution, and #5 in Short-term Particulate Pollution in the entire country.

VIP speaks to the tour and other community members at the Patterson Library

The tour began at the Port of Stockton neighborhood, went down Interstate 5 to Patterson and Crows Landing in West Stanislaus County, and then through South Modesto, Downtown, and ended in the Airport Neighborhood. All of these communities are over-burdened with multiple sources of harmful air pollution from diesel trucks, pesticides, and industrial sites.

The state of California is making major investments in cleaning its air and VIP, Catholic Charities, and CVAQ all hope that the San Joaquin Valley, the Northern part of the Valley in particular, are made a priority.