Comment - 21850 - Addie Chappelle

I urge OEHHA to revise the CalEnviroScreen 5.0 score for Alviso to accurately reflect the community’s persistent pollution burdens and increasing climate vulnerabilities. Although population density shifts may influence the latest scoring, they do not capture the real-lived conditions of this low-income, historically marginalized community located at the lowest elevation in San José. Alviso faces compounded environmental and climate challenges, including flood risk, poor air quality, and limited access to healthy, affordable food. Through Climate Resilient Communities’ work with the Alviso Climate Change Community Team (CCCT), residents have taken action to strengthen local resilience. These efforts highlight the continued environmental inequities the community faces that have yet to be diminished. Over the past two years, CRC has supported residents in organizing two annual Gardening at Home workshops, designed to address food insecurity and affordability by helping families grow their own produce sustainably. CRC also partnered with the City of San José’s Department of Emergency Management to host Alviso’s first-ever disaster preparedness workshop, a milestone that built critical trust between residents and local agencies. Recognizing the community’s history of flood trauma, CRC has secured additional funding to provide every attending family with tangible resources like emergency tools, supplies, and information to help ensure that preparedness extends beyond education into practical and tangible readiness. During this workshop, particular attention was given to evacuation planning, as many residents have shared painful experiences of past flood evacuations and the urgent need for a better, community-driven support system. These conversations exemplify how grassroots leadership is building capacity where state systems have underinvested for decades. For these reasons, I strongly urge OEHHA to pause the release of CalEnviroScreen 5.0 and take a closer look at Alviso’s true environmental and climate risk profile. The current score does not reflect the ongoing pollution burdens or high climate vulnerability. Accurately scoring Alviso is vital to ensure the community receives the funding, technical support, and resources it urgently needs to continue building resilience from the ground up. Thank you for your consideration and your commitment to environmental equity in California.