SAN FERNANDO VALLEY SUN

“State Sen. Menjivar Introduces Legislation to Hold Aggregate Facilities Accountable ”

“SACRAMENTO - Senator Caroline Menjivar (D- San Fernando Valley) has introduced SB 526 to address a pressing health and safety concern in her district and in numerous communities across California, pollutants from aggregate facilities that are subject to outdated regulations.

Residents of Sun Valley, in Senate District 20, have been voicing concerns about the noise pollution, odors, and dust from the eleven aggregate facilities concentrated within 3 miles of each other for years. This includes the largest aggregate recycling center in the San Fernando Valley, which is mere feet away from homes and Sun Valley Park, and less than half a mile from two elementary schools.

“For years, the community of Sun Valley has had to live suffocated by the visible dust that submerges their streets, cars, and parks. With each complaint having gone unresolved, residents have given up on hoping the government addresses their concerns. That ends today, as I fulfill a promise made to my residents that we will no longer accept the status quo of constant environmental injustices in communities of color,” said Senator Caroline Menjivar. “Their health and the safety of their children are at stake. I have heard your calls for a safer and cleaner environment, and that is why I am authoring SB 526 - Accountability for Aggregate Facilities, and saying no more to high rise stockpiles!”

Mariam Moore, CEO of The Climate Corps Initiative, said that the “intrusion of industrial facilities” in Sun Valley has exacerbated the neighborhood’s public health crisis.  

“The community is a patchwork of homes and schools adjacent to asphalt/concrete aggregate factories, a gravel quarry and many other polluting industries,” said Moore. “It is time for a change.””