SACRAMENTO, July 21, 2005 - The American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails together with the Sacramento Metro Chamber announced today that Valley Vision will join them as a partner in the Cleaner Air Partnership and manage the day-to-day activities of the 19-year old business and environmental coalition.

"Adding Valley Vision to the Cleaner Air Partnership as both a partner and project manager will broaden the Partnership's membership base and move us to an exciting new regional level," said Jane Hagedorn, CEO of the American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails.

"The Cleaner Air Partnership is an extremely important vehicle for the business community to partner with the Lung Association on critical air quality issues that impact our region's quality of life, economic vitality and our members' bottom lines," said Metro Chamber president and CEO Matthew Mahood. "Now, by utilizing the varied resources of Valley Vision, I am confident the Cleaner Air Partnership will achieve even greater success promoting public policy initiatives and public awareness as we work together to improve air quality in the greater Sacramento region."

Formed in 1986, the Cleaner Air Partnership's mission is to help the Sacramento Metropolitan area meet clean air standards that protect health and promote economic growth. The Partnership's efforts are concentrated on ozone reduction programs that help minimize transportation-related emissions that contribute to ozone air pollution. Some of its major accomplishments include:

• Winning approval of Smog Check II for the Bay Area to reduce transport of auto emissions to the Sacramento region;
• Helping define and gain public support for new funding sources to address mobile source pollution, including the Sacramento Emergency Clean Air and Transportation Act of 2000 ($50 million) and the Moyer Program;
• Bringing together national, state and local business, government and emission reduction experts to promote retrofit strategies for heavy duty vehicles;
• Gaining accelerated state action on NOx reduction from heavy duty vehicles;
• Encouraging local government adoption of policies and ordinances to reduce NOx that, for example, led the County of Sacramento to acquire clean fuel garbage trucks;
• Creating a public education plan on the role of citizens in reducing air pollution and helping obtain funds to implement and measure program impacts;
• Helping conduct education campaigns for the general public and owners of heavy-duty vehicles about options for reducing emissions

"Over the years I've been witness to the power of community consensus in making change. We've established a regional consciousness and an ongoing dialogue about air pollution," said Dr. Lamare. "We can be proud of our team work and our cleaner air."

"The Cleaner Air Partnership has been a state and national model for business and environmental cooperation to identify and implement air quality initiatives," added Larry Green, Air Pollution Control Officer for the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District. "Meeting the new eight-hour ozone standard and reducing exposure to airborne toxics will be a huge challenge. This transition in leadership is the next step in our efforts to raise the partnership's regional visibility and engage more businesses in creative and responsible initiatives to keep our region a good place to do business and a healthy place to live."

Valley Vision is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Sacramento region. Founded in 1994, Valley Vision focuses on creating livable communities by ensuring environmental sustainability and promoting education, economic and social well being for all residents in the region. Partnering with the Sacramento Area Council of Government, Valley Vision's signature project to date is the nationally recognized Regional "Blueprint Project" for Transportation and Land Use.

"The Cleaner Air Partnership has achieved great success in cleaning our air over the past 20 years," said Tom Stallard, board chair for Valley Vision and former Yolo County Supervisor. "With the addition of Valley Vision, our team will identify opportunities to reach the broader regional community and engage a wide cross section of people and organizations to improve air quality."