Local leaders set to talk post-Hilary air quality concerns in meeting with state representatives Thursday

Questions continue to grow about what's in the air around the Coachella Valley following last August’s Tropical Storm Hilary.

A meeting will be held Thursday where local, regional, and state leaders will focus on those questions and search for potential solutions.

The meeting is set to bring together local representatives from local cities, tribes, and Riverside County along with the South Coast Air Quality Management District and now the California Air Resources Board, also known as CARB.

They’re expected to dig into what’s been going on with our air, now that hazy dusty days are more common, and wind storms with choking dust are more common during our spring and fall windy months. 

AQMD representatives are expected to give a presentation.

Riverside County Supervisor and AQMD Board member Manuel Perez told News Channel 3 he's hoping that getting the big players in the same room will get everyone on the same page.

“AQMD is new to this. I agree," Perez said adding, "But I think they’re there to understand and they’re there to work with us.”

I-Team: Hazardous Haze poses threat to Coachella Valley’s health and economy

In our news August anniversary special “Hilary Aftermath: One-year Later,” Perez said the issue of our air quality is now larger than just AQMD requiring additional resources because the dust in our air isn’t always PM 10 or PM 2.5 but a new unexamined concern, suspended dust, creating a haze, even when it's not windy.

Tom Kirk with the Coachella Valley Association of Governments says additional air monitors around the valley are helpful, but AQMD has to have staff living here so they can experience what we all experience. 

Dangerous Dust: How your lungs and good health can suffer long after the winds die down

“For those of us who live and work here, we don’t want to wait for a study to be prepared in five to six years," Kirk said adding, "More needs to be done today.”

AQMD insists Coachella Valley dust pollution levels are back to normal following the storm. An August 13th AQMD statement said, “According to our monitoring data, levels of PM10 in the Coachella Valley are consistent with what we’ve observed prior to Tropical Storm Hilary.“ 

Read more of our coverage here.

A year after Hilary: What’s being done to clear the Coachella Valley’s wind-blown dust concerns?