Improve Air Quality in Your Community through the CARB’s SEP Program

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Do you have a project idea to help clean the air in your community? If so, you can apply for project funding through California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) settlement of enforcement cases. This funding comes from a program called the Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEP) Program. Nonprofit organizations, tribal governments, local agencies, governments, businesses, and more can apply to be funded through this program. The program’s goal is to improve public health, reduce pollution, increase environmental compliance, and raise public awareness through education.

Sometimes when regulated industries break air pollution control rules in California, they get a chance to directly help clean the air in local communities by funding SEP projects. Projects need to fall into certain categories, such as pollution prevention or reduction, environmental restoration and protection, environmental education and compliance training, community monitoring, and transboundary projects (which are projects that provide a direct benefit to Californians in and around California’s border).  

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Community-inspired projects support CARB’s mission to improve the quality of life for all Californians. The Central California Asthma Collaborative (CCAC) is one such group that has been able to utilize SEP funding to improve local knowledge about air quality. CCAC’s “Healthy Air Neighborhoods” (HAN) project from June 2018 through December 2019, delivered outreach and educational materials on air pollution to community members across Central California. The purpose of the HAN project was to identify low-income, disadvantaged communities in the San Joaquin Valley where the age of the housing stock suggested high concentrations of wood burning devices. CCAC then informed the residents in these areas of the health impacts of smoke from residential wood burning and of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District’s wood burning restrictions and incentive programs. CCAC also delivered information on other clean air incentive programs available through CARB, the local air district and others, to community members impacted by toxic air contaminants.

“CARB’s SEP Program has allowed our organization to educate residents in disadvantaged communities about the health impacts of air pollution and the incentivized mitigation strategies they can adopt to reduce exposure to their family and neighbors” stated Kevin Hamilton, Co-director of Central California Asthma Collaborative.

“I was not previously aware of the negative impacts that smoke from fireplaces has on air quality and health. I’m grateful for organizations like CCAC that came to our homes and shared this information so me and my neighbors can lead healthier lives and advocate for clean air in our community”. -Daniel Morales-Mendiola, Central Valley resident. 

Through the SEP program, funds have been committed to over 30 SEP projects worth over 11 million dollars between 2017 and 2019 in communities across California. The SEP program is hoping to fund many more projects in the coming years.

There are no deadlines for submitting your proposal, so apply today, tomorrow, or any day you brainstorm a great idea to educate your community and help make your community’s air a little cleaner!

If you are interested in learning more about the SEP program or submitting a SEP proposal, please visit https://calepa.ca.gov/sep-proposal-form/ , or contact us at SEP@arb.ca.gov.

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About the Group:

Central California Asthma Collaborative’s mission is to reduce the burden of asthma and related conditions through education, intervention, policy analysis and advocacy by improving care and reducing air pollution in the eight counties of the San Joaquin Valley.