In August 2025, the South Coast AQMD Governing Board approved the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the County of Riverside to implement road paving projects in the Eastern Coachella Valley (ECV) under Assembly Bill 617 (AB 617).

AB 617, signed into law in 2017, established a community-focused framework to improve air quality in disproportionately impacted communities through initiatives such as Community Emission Reductions Plans (CERP) and Community Air Monitoring Plans (CAMP). The ECV community was designated by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in December 2019 to develop both a CERP and CAMP, which were adopted by the Governing Board in June 2021 and approved by CARB in September 2021.

During the CERP development process, Community Steering Committee (CSC) members raised concerns about PM10 emissions from unpaved roadways and their health impacts. To address these issues, in 2021, the CSC allocated $4.57 million in AB 617 Community Air Protection Incentive funds to support paving projects through a community-driven participatory budgeting process.

South Coast AQMD worked with the CSC to create a Paving Project Plan, which received CARB approval. However, after releasing two Program Announcements to secure a contractor, no qualified applicants were available. To move the effort forward, staff developed a new collaborative approach with the County of Riverside, leveraging the County’s expertise in road projects.

South Coast AQMD and the County of Riverside are now working together to develop an MOU that will guide this partnership and ensure implementation of the paving projects. The MOU is expected to be finalized in November 2025, with paving projects anticipated to begin in early 2026.

For more information, visit the Paving Project Plan webpage. www.un.org/en/observances/clean-air-day.