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CAP Technical Advisory: Biomass Utilization in the Region

At the Cleaner Air Partnership’s September 2023 Technical Advisory Committee meeting, participants discussed opportunities and challenges surrounding biomass utilization in the 6-county Sacramento region.

Thank you to the generous contributors to the Cleaner Air Partnership: Sac Metro Air District, Teichert, SMUD, Sutter Health, Sacramento Association of REALTORS®, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District, PG&E, El Dorado County Air Quality Management District, CEMEX, Clarity and Nikola.

Subject Matter Experts:

  • Kerri Timmer – Placer County
  • Paul Hensleigh – Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District
  • Chuck Smith – Stonebridge Sustainability Solutions, Inc.
  • Martin Twer – The Watershed Center

Additional Resources and Links:

Air Quality Community Gathering – North Sacramento

*Please RSVP HERE* to reserve your spot. Thank you!

Calling all residents for the Sacramento Neighborhoods Activating on Air Quality (SNAAQ) 2.0 Community Gathering. RSVP today!

Join us for an interactive event to work on strategies to reduce air pollution in your neighborhood!

Giveaways:

  • Groceries
  • $100 gift cards
  • Instapots & Air Purifiers

Interpretations Available:

  • Hmong
  • Spanish
  • Farsi

Learn more about the project here: https://www.valleyvision.org/projects/community-air-protection/

CAP Luncheon: Transforming Transportation (June 2023)

At the Cleaner Air Partnership’s June 2023 Quarterly Luncheon, attendees discussed the latest in sustainable transportation and its impact on our region with Dan Sperling, founding Director of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies.

CAP events are an opportunity to learn about important air quality topics affecting the Sacramento region. Thank you to the generous contributors to the Cleaner Air Partnership: Sac Metro Air District, Teichert, SMUD, Sutter Health, Sacramento Association of REALTORS®, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District, El Dorado County Air Quality Management District, PG&E, CEMEX, Clarity, and Nikola Motors.

CAP Luncheon: Transforming Transportation (Hybrid)

Join us on Friday, June 23rd from 12:00 to 1:30 PM for a roundtable with Dan Sperling, founding Director of the Institute of Transportation Studies and former CARB Board Member, about the latest in sustainable transportation and its impact on the Sacramento Region.

*Note: This event is taking place in Davis, California with a virtual option offered. In-person seats are extremely limited for this hybrid event (there are no limitations on the number of virtual attendees). Please complete the interest form to share your participation preferences.

These events are an opportunity to learn about important air quality topics affecting the Sacramento region. Thank you to the generous contributors to the Cleaner Air Partnership: Sac Metro Air District, Teichert, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, SMUD, Sutter Health, Sacramento Association of REALTORS®, Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District, El Dorado County Air Quality Management District, PG&E, CEMEX, Clarity, and Nikola Motors.

All CAP events are free to attend; registration is required for food and space planning purposes. Email Laurel Smith with any questions at laurel.smith@valleyvision.org.

CAP Luncheon: The 2025 Blueprint (March 2023)

At the Cleaner Air Partnership’s December 2022 Quarterly Luncheon, attendees discussed the Sacramento region’s MTP/SCS strategy, the Blueprint, and the process for achieving a sustainable, equitable, and prosperous region.

CAP events are an opportunity to learn about important air quality topics affecting the Sacramento region. Thank you to the generous contributors to the Cleaner Air Partnership: Sac Metro Air District, Teichert, SMUD, Sutter Health, Sacramento Association of REALTORS®, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District, El Dorado County Air Quality Management District, PG&E, CEMEX, Clarity, and Nikola Motors.

Guest Speakers:

  • James Corless, Executive Director, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) (Presentation)
  • Kacey Lizon, Deputy Executive Director of Planning & Programs, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG)

CAP Luncheon: The 2025 Blueprint (In-Person)

Please RSVP to secure your spot and lunch at the event. At the Cleaner Air Partnership’s March 2023 Quarterly Luncheon, attendees will hear the story behind the Sacramento region’s MTP/SCS strategy, the Blueprint, and the process for achieving a sustainable, equitable, and prosperous region.

*This luncheon will be held in-person at The California Endowment (TCE), located in Downtown Sacramento, 1414 K Street #500 Sacramento, CA 95814. While this is an in-person event, participants should anticipate following TCE Pandemic Guidelines to ensure safety for both attendees and facility staff. Pandemic guidelines required for the event include proof of full vaccination verified at the door (2 shots or 1 J&J shot) and temperature screening, also checked at the door.

These events are an opportunity to learn about important air quality topics affecting the Sacramento region. Thank you to the generous contributors to the Cleaner Air Partnership: Sac Metro Air District, Teichert, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, SMUD, Sutter Health, Sacramento Association of REALTORS®, Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District, El Dorado County Air Quality Management District, PG&E, CEMEX, Clarity, and Nikola Motors.

All CAP events are free to attend; registration is required for food and space planning purposes. Email Kathy Saechou with any questions at kathy.saechou@valleyvision.org.

Coordinated Rural Opportunity Plan (CROP)

The Coordinated Rural Opportunity Plan (CROP) is a regional strategy to help preserve and maintain sustainable agriculture throughout the Sacramento Region. CROP is a joint effort between the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) and Valley Vision, and is part of SACOG’s Rural Urban Connection Strategy (RUCS).

CROP will serve as a resource for promoting public and private sector investment in infrastructure and programs that will strengthen our region’s agricultural economy, and support the preservation and acquisition of agricultural land.

The Coordinated Rural Opportunity Plan will analyze:

  • The importance of the Sacramento region in statewide and global food production
  • The unique assets, qualities, and industries that are supported by each of the region’s six counties. 
  • The barriers and challenges facing agriculture including climate risks, pressure from urbanization, and limitations of existing infrastructure, among others. 

Agriculture Has Deep Roots in the Sacramento Region

The counties of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba have a rich history in agriculture that provides a treasured legacy for residents and a strong regional identity. As the foundation of a food and agricultural economy valued at more than $12 billion, agriculture can have a bright future given that we have some of the most productive farmland in the world, highly skilled farmers, water and climate assets, a wide diversity of high-value crops, and UC Davis, one of the world’s premier agricultural institutions.

Our region’s urban and rural areas are interdependent, and just like urban areas, rural economic viability is fundamentally derived from land use decisions and investments that support critical infrastructure.


Agriculture is an Economic Driver

The region’s Prosperity Strategy outlines a strategic framework and bridge to action for the six-county region that prioritizes our core economic initiatives, aimed at advancing a more aligned, prosperous, inclusive, and resilient Sacramento region. The Prosperity Strategy includes initiatives to support the region’s tradeable industries – groups of related industries that support economic output through exporting goods or services. These industries are critical for local prosperity because of their ability to improve productivity and bring in wealth from outside the region through competitive economic advantage.

Agriculture is the foundation of our region’s most distinct tradeable industry – the food and agriculture cluster – comprised of crop production; packaging and processing; distribution; and support industries. Together, this cluster provides more than 55,000 direct jobs, putting the Sacramento region in the top fifth of large metropolitan areas in the country when it comes to sustaining a robust agricultural economy. The supply chain that generates our food and ag economy is deep, with its own unique networks and dependent sectors. As America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital, the Sacramento Region is both fertile and productive, with $2 billion in farm gate output value, more than 7,200 farms, and more than 1.5 million acres of harvested farmland. The overall cluster has an economic impact of more than $12 billion.


CROP Planning Activities

The Coordinated Rural Opportunity Plan provides a unique opportunity for planning staff, water agencies, resource conservation districts, and others to collaborate on creating a county-level and regional perspective of the economic and infrastructure investment challenges and solutions facing agriculture in the coming decades, including access to land and land use decisions, transportation and broadband infrastructure, water access and reliability, the regulatory environment, and others.


CROP is funded by the Department of Conservation’s Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation (SALC) Program.

Should you have any questions, or if you want to get involved, please reach out to Grace Kaufman at Grace.Kaufman@ValleyVision.org

CAP Luncheon: Let’s Talk Trucks (December 2022)

At the Cleaner Air Partnership’s December 2022 Quarterly Luncheon, attendees discussed forthcoming regulations for medium and heavy-duty trucks, and how our region is preparing for this transition.

CAP events are an opportunity to learn about important air quality topics affecting the Sacramento region. Thank you to the generous contributors to the Cleaner Air Partnership: Sac Metro Air District, Teichert, SMUD, Sutter Health, Union Pacific, Sacramento Association of REALTORS®, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District, El Dorado County Air Quality Management District, North State Building Industry Association, PG&E, CEMEX, and the Healthy Air Alliance.

Guest Speakers:

  • Paul Arneja, Air Resources Engineer, CARB (Presentation)
  • David Renschler, Fleet Division Manager, City of Fairfield and MEMA NorCal Chair (Slide)
  • Eric Cahill, Senior Strategic Planner, SMUD (Presentation)

CAP Technical Advisory: Air Quality Standards (November 2022)

At the Cleaner Air Partnership’s November 2022 Technical Advisory Committee meeting, participants discussed potential changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and what they might mean for the Sacramento region. CAP events are an opportunity to learn about important air quality topics affecting the Sacramento region.

Thank you to the generous contributors to the Cleaner Air Partnership: Sac Metro Air District, Teichert, SMUD, Sutter Health, Union Pacific, Sacramento Association of REALTORS®, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District, El Dorado County Air Quality Management District, North State Building Industry Association, PG&E, CEMEX, and the Healthy Air Alliance.

Subject Matter Experts:

  • Miles Keogh, National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA)
  • Shyamala Rajan, American Lung Association (Presentation)
  • Mariela Ruacho, American Lung Association
  • Louis Baer, Portland Cement Association
  • Erik White, Placer County Air Pollution Control District

Zero-Emission Hydrogen Locomotive Webinar

Join Valley Vision on December 16th for an informative webinar about the new hydrogen switcher locomotive coming to the Port of West Sacramento! The new hydrogen fuel cell locomotive, built and tested by Sierra Northern Railway, will demonstrate how hydrogen-fueled switching locomotives improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase the quality of life for surrounding communities. Join us to learn more about this exciting project coming to the Sacramento Region!

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE HYDROGEN LOCOMOTIVE
The new zero-emission switching locomotive will use advanced hydrogen technology to replace a diesel locomotive that currently uses 10,000 gallons of diesel a year. There are more than 260 switcher locomotives that operate in California-currently all powered by diesel. This hydrogen switching locomotive will be the first of its kind, proof of concept project by Sierra Northern Railway, and will feature hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen storage, and battery and control technologies that are much more environmentally friendly than diesel. If proven successful, hydrogen switchers could revolutionize the locomotive industry.

Please contact Grace.Kaufman@ValleyVision.org should you have any questions.

Cleaner Air Partnership Fact Sheet (2023)

The Cleaner Air Partnership (CAP) is a unique collaboration between Breathe California Sacramento Region, the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and Valley Vision, working to ensure that the region meets clean air standards that protect health, promote economic growth, and support equity. This fact sheet details the Cleaner Air Partnership’s education, advocacy and regional coordination activities and accomplishments.

Cleaner Air Partnership (CAP)

The Cleaner Air Partnership (CAP) is a unique public-private partnership across business, transportation, health, local government and the environment that is committed to protecting health, promoting economic growth, and supporting equity by ensuring the region meets clean air standards.

In support of its mission, the Cleaner Air Partnership undertakes:

  • Fact-finding
  • Public education
  • Policy and advocacy work at the local, state and federal levels on behalf of air quality priorities of the region
  • Facilitation and building agreement
  • Support for air-friendly smart-growth principles and their local implementation
  • Support for targeted research activities

Stay up-to-date on air quality in the Sacramento region with the monthly CAP email newsletter: Subscribe to the Cleaner Air News.

Our geographic focus includes Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, El Dorado, Yuba, Sutter and part of Solano counties, and the large air basin that they share.

The work of CAP generally centers on programs that help minimize smog-forming emissions from mobile sources, such as cars and trucks, which are the dominant source of the capital region’s air pollution. CAP supports an incentive-based approach that rewards cooperation, innovation and proactive efforts. CAP is focused on reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are one of the two major ingredients of ground-level ozone or smog. Simultaneously, reductions in ozone pollution and NOx also help to reduce two other major kinds of air pollution in our region: PM 2.5, small particles (soot), and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which are all linked to climate change. Learn more about past and current air quality in our region at Spare the Air.

Learn about the history of the Cleaner Air Partnership below:

Our region is one of America’s most polluted metropolitan areas, and that means negative health impacts for all of us. Our most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities are hit especially hard, since prolonged exposure to high air pollution may cause severe health issues such as respiratory illness, lung and heart stress, and damaged respiratory cells. We’ve made great progress cleaning our air. As more people move to the area and our national air quality standards change, so do the challenges for our region’s air quality advocates, businesses and residents.

Learn about the impacts of poor air quality to public health and economic growth:

CAP Contributors

The Cleaner Air Partnership’s contributors include businesses, environmental organizations, public health nonprofits, and governmental agencies from both the public and private sectors:

For more information about becoming a financial supporter, please contact Adrian Rehn.

CAP Agenda & Accomplishments

The Sacramento Region has reduced unhealthy air days by two-thirds since 1979 through tougher smog checks and emissions standards, cleaner burning gasoline and stricter standards on stationary sources such as auto refinishing shops, manufacturing plants and gas stations.

Private companies and public agencies have also joined the effort – voluntarily adding pollution controls and switching their heavy-duty vehicles to cleaner-burning fuels such as compressed natural gas. Financial incentives often help cover their costs and lead businesses to adopt clean-air measures before regulations require them. And we’ve begun thinking about how to grow smarter by putting jobs, homes and services closer together.

Here are CAP’s main priority work areas for the coming years:

Here are some highlights of CAP’s clean air innovation and action:

Join Us!

At the Cleaner Air Partnership, we think a little cooperation can go a long way when it comes to preserving the air quality that’s so crucial for the Sacramento region’s future.

Our business-health partnership can also be a source of invaluable context and guidance for your own external affairs activities.