October—December 2024 Newsletter
Cleaner Air at Ports
In October, EPA announced that seven ports in California were selected to receive over $1 billion for the deployment of zero-emission port infrastructure, climate and air quality planning projects. The selected applicants are the City of Los Angeles Harbor Department, the Port Department of the City of Oakland, the Oxnard Harbor District Port of Hueneme, the Port of Redwood City, the San Diego Unified Port District, the Port of San Francisco, and the Stockton Port District. The grants will support clean energy and advance environmental justice by reducing diesel air pollution from ports and in surrounding communities. “While ports of course serve an essential role for moving goods, the costs that they bring in terms of pollution and impacts on overburdened communities must be confronted,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “Replacing diesel-powered port and freight equipment with clean, zero-emission technologies will reduce air pollution, improve health outcomes in nearby communities, and advance the campaign to tackle climate change.”
- Instagram: EPA at the Port of Oakland (Video)
- The Maritime Executive: EPA's $322M Boost for Port of Oakland's Green Future
- EPA’s Ports Initiative
Protecting Children’s Health
October was National Children’s Health Month. Children are often more vulnerable to pollutants than adults due to differences in behavior and biology and these differences can lead to greater exposure and unique windows of susceptibility. Children in overburdened communities may suffer from a reduced ability to recover from harmful environmental exposures, due to lowered resilience. This can particularly affect children in low-income communities, as well as children in communities underserved by education, healthcare, and housing. Protecting these children and all children is a priority for EPA. During Children’s Health Month, the agency focused on educating the public about children’s environmental health with a series of videos that was shared on social media.
Prioritizing PFAS
In November, EPA launched a new, no-cost effort focused on reducing exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals,” and other emerging contaminants in small and disadvantaged communities. The initiative is part of the agency’s water technical assistance program. EPA also released the third-year progress report that highlights key accomplishments of the national strategy to confront PFAS in communities across the country.
Enforcement Update
Protecting Tucson from PFAS
EPA has determined that the U.S. Air Force, with its plan of action to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concerns related to Tucson’s drinking water, is now in compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act Order issued by EPA in May of 2024. EPA will actively oversee actions by the Air Force to ensure communities are protected from exposure to PFAS and that will allow Tucson to use its groundwater resources for drinking water.