November 13, 2015

Tulare, CA — Central California Environmental Justice Network is excited to kick off a project to improve the participation of community members in compliance and enforcement processes throughout the San Joaquin Valley.  This project includes  putting a cohort (pictured here) of residents and advocates through inspector level courses at the Cal-EPA.  Through the next 8 months this group will be learning alongside government regulators about various topics including pesticide use & drift, oil & gas exploration, evidence and report writing, and visible emissions evaluations.  The cohort will also be participating in a series of community data-gathering events that will seek to understand and collect data about some of the most poignant sources of pollution in the valley, and some of the most affected communities in the state.

This project is supported by the US EPA through an EJ Small Grant and has the potential to serve as a model as we discuss Next Generation enforcement and compliance in the future.  Through this project, residents will combine newly gained technical knowledge along with on-the-ground community experience to promote compliance with environmental regulations.

Please stay tuned for future posts about this project.