Sierra Club San Diego Condemns APCD Vote Blocking Indirect Source Rule Rulemaking Process

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Charles Rilli, Deputy Chapter Director, 973-865-3306 

Sierra Club San Diego Condemns APCD Vote Blocking Indirect Source Rule Rulemaking Process

San Diego, CA  May, 19, 2026— Sierra Club San Diego strongly condemns the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) Governing Board’s decision last week to reject moving forward with a rulemaking process for an Indirect Source Rule (ISR), a critical clean air policy designed to reduce harmful pollution from warehouses, freight facilities, and associated truck traffic.

The vote represents a major setback for public health, environmental justice, and regional climate leadership at a time when local action is urgently needed to protect San Diegans from worsening air pollution and federal regulatory rollbacks.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and National City Councilmember Marcus Bush voted against initiating the rulemaking process, despite Supervisor Paloma Aguirre offering to explore funding opportunities to support APCD rulemaking and analysis.

This policy is explicitly designed to address the source of pollution problems, not add more band-aids to an already polluted air basin. According to the American Lung Association, San Diego ranked 59th last year, and was listed as the 5th most polluted place to live in 2026 for year-round particle pollution, which the report stated was the biggest change on the entire list.

Existing public health benefit estimates associated with an ISR likely substantially understate the true costs of pollution exposure. Current analyses rely on limited modeling tools and incomplete emissions data that do not fully capture cumulative and long-term health impacts. APCD itself is an air quality agency, not a public health agency, and existing analyses are constrained by significant gaps in available health and emissions reporting.

As a result, the avoided health costs and community benefits of an ISR are likely far greater than current estimates suggest.

“San Diego has missed a huge opportunity to clean up its air pollution,” said Regina Hsu, Senior Attorney at Earthjustice. “The sprawling logistics industry—from ports to mega-warehouses—is spewing harmful diesel pollution into our communities. A policy to clean up these pollution hotspots would have required corporate giants to do their part to improve air quality in the region. By voting against this commonsense policy and opting instead for voluntary incentive programs, the APCD Governing Board has failed San Diegans.”

An Indirect Source Rule is a proven tool for reducing emissions, improving air quality, and protecting public health. Refusing to even begin the rulemaking process ignores both the science and the voices of impacted residents. The majority of the governing board chose to protect industry operators rather than move forward with a rulemaking process to protect our community and residents. The transition to a zero-emission transportation sector is here, and we need bold local action to mandate emission reductions from these operations. Sierra Club San Diego will continue pushing for bold action to protect public health and advance environmental justice.”

— Charles Rilli, Deputy Chapter Director, Sierra Club San Diego

“This delay leaves a heavy burden on our families. Diesel soot is a double hit: it pollutes the air we breathe while trapping intense heat right in our backyards. We can’t claim to be climate leaders while we let trucks cook our atmosphere and congest our communities. Our neighborhoods deserve action now, not more empty promises,” said Anthony Dang, Policy and Community Outreach manager at Climate Action Campaign.

"Last week’s decision ignores the reality families in portside and border communities face every day,” said José Franco Garcia, executive director of Environmental Health Coalition. “Children are growing up surrounded by diesel truck traffic, warehouses, and some of the worst air pollution in the country. Federal protections have been rolled back, local leaders should be stepping up for public health, not delaying action. While the motion ultimately failed, we thank Paloma Aguirre, Anne Marie Birkbeck-Garcia, Georgette Gomez, and Paula Stigler Granados for voting to move the ISR process forward.”

“Rejecting rulemaking means rejecting the opportunity to fully study the problem, improve data collection, engage stakeholders, and develop meaningful solutions,” said Charles Rilli, Deputy Chapter Director, Sierra Club San Diego. “San Diego residents deserve leadership willing to confront pollution, and work to find tailored solutions to the San Diego region— not delay accountability while communities continue to bear the health consequences.”

To learn more about Sierra Club San Diego, please log onto https://sandiegosierraclub.org/ or reach out to charles.rilli@sierraclub.org 

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