The 19-Acre facility will have a chemistry lab and have emissions testing capabilities for cars, trucks, buses, and much more.
Richard Roth is a State Senator out of Riverside. “The opening of this new Southern California ARB (Air Resource Board) Headquarters in Riverside comes at a pivotal time. Our focus is no longer simply on clean air but how best to deploy technology to combat climate change," said Roth.
Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson also spoke and told a story of growing up in Riverside and not seeing the mountains because of smog. She spoke of the drastic progress the state and region have made since her childhood.
Lock Dawson said, “And we owe that progress [to] the regulations put in place back then by the California Air Resources Board.”
That said, she said even today, many aren’t safe with current air quality and that we have more progress to make. “Children with already challenging health issues such as asthma are still breathing dirty, still struggling for breath, and spending time indoors when they should be outside"
Lock Dawson spoke of studies showing that people of color are more likely to be exposed to pollution and suffer side effects.“And as our economy grows, this injustice will only grow with it, unless we act now as we are today,” added Lock Dawson. She added that we must not only reduce our emissions but regulate them at their source.