Coalition Background and Formation

The Environmental Justice Air Quality Coalition (EJAQC) was originally established as an ad hoc coalition in response to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s (BAAQMD) request to convene an Environmental Justice Working Group (EJWG) in 2000. The EJWG was formed to provide guidance and input to BAAQMD staff management and Board of Directors in the area of policies and practices relating to environmental justice. After more than a year of futile discussion, BAAQMD failed to meet many of the proposed good faith measures and EJAQC groups resigned from the District’s working group.

Since resigning from of the EJWG, many of the organizations involved have joined together to focus our efforts towards bringing Bay Area air quality decisions in line with Environmental Justice practices and policies. Thus, EJAQC is dedicated to forming a proactive agenda to achieve air quality for Bay Area EJ communities on our own terms.

Core EJAQC Organizations

Chester St. Block Club Association, (West Oakland)
Chinese Progressive Association (San Francisco)
Citizens for West Oakland Revitalization (West Oakland)
Communities for a Better Environment (Oakland)
Environmental Law and Justice Clinic/Golden Gate Law University School of Law (San Francisco)
Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice (San Francisco)
Health and Environmental Justice Project of Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (San Jose)
Literacy for Environmental Justice (San Francisco)
PUEBLO (Oakland)
Urban Habitat (Oakland)
West County Toxics Coalition (Richmond)
Youth United for Community Action (East Palo Alto).

See Also:

Oakland Tribune story: Oakland Toxic Avengers

For more information, contact:

Environmental Justice Air Quality Coalition

Mission Statement

The Environmental Justice Air Quality Coalition (EJAQC) exists to demand and achieve air quality policies and practices consistent with the principles of the environmental justice movement through:

• Promoting active community involvement in all aspects of the decision making process including networking with other environmental and social justice groups
• Holding government agencies accountable to the community
• Resisting corporate control of our community over air quality
• Facilitating community involvement and control over decisions that affect air quality

Goal

Hold governmental agencies and corporations accountable to community demands to improve air quality and public health for Bay Area residents, including disproportionately impacted communities.

Demands

The following demands were developed to reconstruct the District’s priorities and strengthen policies, practices and decision making by the BAAQMD staff and Board of Directors

• Active and Meaningful Public Participation in Public Hearings
• Community-based Inspections/Effective Complaint Process
• Adopt New Rules to Assess Cumulative Impact
• Public Participation in the BAAQMD Hiring Process and Decisions Making
• Adequate Community Representation on BAAQMD Board of Directors
• Adequate Fines for Polluters