Overview
- Supervisors voted unanimously to allocate $8.75 million from unlocked reserves for health studies, temporary infrastructure, and an expanded air purifier program.
- A $4.75 million tranche funds epidemiological work and a temporary fix at the Saturn Boulevard hotspot, including $2.5 million to extend culvert pipes below the water surface with implementation targeted within two years pending land agreements.
- The board created a County Pollution Crisis Chief to centralize the response and directed a letter backing IBWC Minute Orders 330 and 333 to advance Mexican treatment plant and pump upgrades.
- A separate $4 million will expand the Air Improvement Relief Effort to supply up to three purifiers per household for roughly 35,000 homes following early results showing reduced odors and high satisfaction.
- The actions follow CDC findings that 64% of surveyed residents reported new or worsening symptoms and 31% sought medical care, as UCSD research flagged extreme hydrogen sulfide levels at Saturn Boulevard.