Community organizers presented the local community emissions reduction plan to the Delano City Council Aug. 4, outlined monitoring work and invited residents to participate in the project’s steering committee.

Diana Mireles, community organizer with the Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment, identified the project as a CARB-funded community air grant running across the 2024–2026 cycle that is community-driven and open to resident-proposed measures. Mireles said the work is part of a Local Community Emissions Reduction Plan (LCERP) project.

A representative of the Central California Asthma Collaborative said the collaborative administers the San Joaquin Valley real-time air-quality network and that Delano now hosts the project’s first monitor deployment in the city. “We have 8 monitors in town,” the representative said, and the network provides real-time data at two-minute intervals via an app and website.

Presenters noted that, before the local monitors were installed, Delano relied on Bakersfield-area data that did not always reflect local air conditions. They also cited the American Lung Association’s 2025 report ranking Delano high for particle and ozone pollution and said the LCERP process lets residents identify locally appropriate solutions such as vegetative barriers, home air-purifier distribution and partnerships to match city projects with grant funds.

The presenters said the LCERP project is stakeholder-driven and collaborates with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, CARB and local school districts; some monitors are co-located with regulatory Air District and EPA monitors, they said, and provide regulatory-grade readings. They invited residents to weekly meetings held in person at the CRPE office (1112 Jefferson) and virtually; the group holds agenda-setting meetings on the first Wednesday of each month.

Presenters also said AB 617 designated communities such as Shafter and Arvin/Lamont for targeted resources, that Shafter’s LCRP included air-purifier distribution, and that Delano’s grant funding is intended to let the community propose measures that address local priorities. The presenters asked the council for participation or a city liaison to help channel resident concerns to staff.

No formal council action was taken on the presentation. Council members thanked the presenters and asked staff to consider the information when implementing local projects.