| September 11, 2009
Truck Stop Customer Service Centers also Approved
The South Coast Air Quality Management
District today awarded $500,000 to the Advanced Transportation Technology &
Energy (ATTE) Network of Community Colleges for designing curricula that
will train technicians to install and maintain new low- and zero-emission
technologies.
In February, AQMD’s Governing Board launched the “Helping Hand” initiative
that is designed to support the local economy during the current recession
while keeping the region on a clear path toward clean air.
“It is extremely important that we develop and maintain a trained workforce
capable of working with next-generation environmental technologies,” said
William Burke, Ed.D., AQMD’s Governing Board Chairman. “Once trained, these
technicians will ensure that these low-emission products live up to their
full potential.”
The overall goal is to design a long-term, self-sustaining community college
curriculum that addresses present and ongoing training needs throughout the
region for the purpose of advancing clean technology. The curricula will
cover training in areas of renewable energy such as solar and wind, and
alternative fuel vehicle maintenance and installation and maintenance of
vehicle pollution control systems.
The Board also approved up to $150,000 to develop and staff customer service
centers at two major truck stops. Representatives at the service centers
would inform truckers of the benefits of advanced engine technologies,
including increased fuel efficiency and educational resources that truckers
can take advantage of to properly maintain and operate today’s and future
model trucks.
AQMD relies upon the accelerated implementation of advanced technologies
within Southern California to achieve state and federal clean air standards
and to reduce residents’ exposure to air pollution. Training programs, such
as the one being developed, will help bridge the historical gap between the
advent of new technologies and their full implementation.
In other action, AQMD’s Board:
• Honored the late Riverside County Supervisor Roy Wilson for his years of
dedicated service on the AQMD Board. Since joining the Board in 1987, Wilson
championed forward-looking public policymaking, from helping to capture
emerging global markets for cleaner, low-emission technologies to helping
advance zero-emission technologies such as fuel cells. Supervisor Wilson
also led efforts to implement important fugitive dust control strategies for
the Coachella Valley, including addressing special air quality challenges
for the receding Salton Sea.
• Elected William Burke as chairman and Chino Mayor Dennis Yates as
vice-chair with terms beginning January 2010 and ending in January 2012.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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