Bills To Benefit Both Coachella and Imperial Valley Communities
(SACRAMENTO, CA) –– The Senate Environmental Quality Committee passed two critical bills (AB 434/AB 1059) authored by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) with overwhelmingly bi-partisan support today. The first bill, AB 434 requires the State Water Resources Control Board to adopt regulations allowing water filtration systems in the Eastern Coachella Valley communities to protect residents against unsafe levels of arsenic in their drinking water. The second bill, AB 1059 requires the Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to update its CalEnviroScreen 2.0 program by using new environmental data through air monitors relating to known impacts on environmental quality along communities in the California-Mexico border region to address severe air quality concerns.
"We must continue making our case here in Sacramento so everyone in the Coachella and Imperial Valley can have access to cleaner drinking water and improved air quality. My legislation will help ensure that families most impacted by unsafe levels of arsenic in their drinking water and poor air quality in their communities can now have the needed resources to enhance their quality of life and remedy this problem," stated Assemblymember Garcia.
AB 434– Point-of-Use, Point-of-Entry Water Filtration Systems legislation requires the State Water Resources Control Board to adopt regulations allowing water filtration systems in the Eastern Coachella Valley to protect residents against unsafe levels of arsenic in drinking water. The bill is being supported by Pueblo Unido Community Development Corporation, Coachella Valley Water District, Pacific Water Quality Association, Comite Civico del Valle, and Coachella Valley Regional Water Management Plan Group .
AB 1059– The Cal Enviroscreen 2.0, Border Environmental Data bill will improve public health for the communities along the California-Mexico border region by expanding the CalEnviroScreen, to capture relevant environmental data and puts monitor on the border to access and generate data on the current air quality. The bill is being supported by Comite Civico del Valle.
