With the help of Cap-and-Trade dollars awarded by the Community Air Grants Program, the Twenty- Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians have built an air quality monitoring station as a first step towards developing an air monitoring program. The Tribal air monitoring project, initiated in 2018, aims to measure PM pollutants continuously and share that data on the Tribal Government website (29palmstribe.org). With real-time air quality data available to Tribal members and the community, the Tribe hopes to raise awareness about the potential issues caused by the Salton Sea and other sources of emissions in the area.
A Tribal Air Technician, Jose Aaron Rojas, was hired to manage the air monitoring station and interpret data. “The information we are collecting at this station can be analyzed to show changes in particulate levels over time to, not only determine whether the Salton Sea is affecting regional air quality, but to show whether the air quality is at a safe level.”
The Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians is a federally recognized tribe of Chemehuevi descendants located in southern California, near the City of Coachella, about 17 miles northwest of the Salton Sea. The Quantification Settlement Agreement, established in 2003, has reduced water levels in the Salton Sea by transferring water away from agricultural producers in the Imperial Valley, and diverting it to San Diego County for municipal use. The agricultural runoff had sustained the Sea’s water level, but the reduced inflows have begun to expose the dry lakebed, or playa. The eastern Coachella Valley communities, including the Tribe, are concerned that the exposed playa will increase air pollution from windblown dust.
“The Tribe has had a long-term goal of developing an air monitoring program, and this funding has helped build that capacity. We are excited to have our air station up and running and to share information that can be used to improve the health of the community” says Tribal Chairman, Darrell Mike.
Workers by monitoring station