The first of 16 Drive Clean in the San Joaquin vehicle repair events happening this year took place this past Saturday at the Madera fairgrounds. The popular vehicle repair event has been improving air quality and helping Valley residents bring their vehicles into compliance with smog requirements for more than a decade. In 2019, the District added a replacement option to help residents transition out of the most high polluting vehicles by replacing them with plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. Together, these Drive Clean efforts have hit a major milestone—more than 100,000 vehicles have been repaired or replaced in the Valley!
“There are funds available to help Valley residents buy an electric vehicle. This is a great opportunity to clean the air in the Valley and to help families most in need,” said Senator Anna Caballero.
“I commend the District’s ongoing efforts to clean our Central Valley’s air while creating equitable and accessible programs for residents across the region. Thank you!” stated Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria.
“Thank you Madera County Supervisor Bobby Macaulay, California State Senator Anna Caballero and Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria for attending the Valley Air District’s first 2024 Drive Clean in the San Joaquin event,” says Samir Sheikh, Executive Director/ Air Pollution Control Officer for the Valley Air District. “We appreciate the leadership of our Valley legislators in championing these much-needed funds that support our underserved communities.”
While meteorology, geography and topography play key roles in the Valley’s air pollution challenges, mobile sources are the largest source of emissions and the Valley is home to a large number of older cars which many residents have financial difficulty maintaining.
In addition to the Repair events planned for 2024, there will be dozens of in-person workshops to assist residents with their Replace applications of vehicles 2006 and older. Valley residents can participate in these programs by attending an event or calling Valley Clean Air Now (Valley CAN) at 1-800-806-2004.
