Regular features of the monthly meeting of the Morongo Basin Municipal Advisory Council are public safety reports from County Fire, CHP, and the Sheriff’s Department, community reports from the MAC members, and generally at least one informational presentation. Reporter Dan Stork says that the latest special presentation was on air quality…
At its July 13 meeting the Morongo Basin MAC heard from Eldon Heaston, the executive director of the Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District. Heaston told the group that this area was once part of the South Coast AQMD, but has been a separate “air basin” since the early 1990s. He said that the ’90s experienced heavy particulate loads in the air, due to unregulated quarrying in support of burgeoning construction. Heaston said that that situation has improved greatly, but cited ongoing concerns. Chief among these are ozone pollution, mostly originating from vehicles in the densely-populated South Coast AQMD, and dust pollution from our own dirt roads. He described budget constraints, since AQMDs (of which there are 35 in California) are largely supported by local vehicle fees, and the Mojave Desert AQMD is a huge area with a small population base.
During the Q and A following Heaston’s presentation, many questions addressed the effects of solar projects, and the purported amplification of dust-raising winds by solar panels. On the subject of wind, Heaston noted that if a dust-nuisance complaint gets to court, and if the wind can be shown to be greater than 15 miles per hour, the complaint is likely to be thrown out, on the grounds that an individual can’t be expected to deal with nature’s decision to blow mightily in the desert.
MORONGO BASIN MAC HEARS ABOUT AIR QUALITY
