In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and statewide restrictions on non-essential activities, the APCD has closed its office to walk-in traffic and most staff are working remotely. The District's network of permanent air quality monitors continues to operate without interruption, including the CDF, Mesa2, NRP, and Oso Flaco stations near the Oceano Dunes Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) Park. In addition, all of the District's temporary monitors on the Nipomo Mesa continue to operate. The real-time data is still available on our website (www.slocleanair.org), www.airnow.gov, and through all the usual sites and apps that the public uses. AirAware blowing dust alerts will continue.
During the temporary closure of the OHV Park, the extensive network of monitors on the dunes and behind them are well suited to obtain emissions data. Although we are hopeful to see some immediate reductions in particulate emissions, we don’t expect the effects of long-term activity will disappear in a few weeks or months.
In addition, all mitigation and monitoring projects that State Parks committed to implement in 2020 are still on track. State Parks has already fenced off and the planted the 48-acre foredune project, which is a key element of November's Stipulated Order of Abatement (SOA). They have also completed the 40 acres of temporary dust controls and the 4.2 acres of straw treatment in the back dune area, as required by the SOA. These 90+ acres of new controls are in addition to the existing controls that have been in place since 2018. Sand flux monitors, which measure how much sand is moving during wind events, have already been installed in these mitigation areas, and 15 temporary meteorology stations within the OHV Park are currently being installed. While upcoming in-person meetings have been cancelled, the SAG is continuing its work.
For more information on all efforts being made at the Oceano Dunes, click here.