Grantee Victory: Challenging Pollution in Fresno
Three major highways cross the city of Fresno, California, dramatically increasing airborne pollution.
Impact Fund grantee Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability recently achieved a partial victory on appeal in their case Friends of Calwa & Fresno Building Healthy Communities v. California Department of Transportation.
In the case, communities of color in South Fresno challenged the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)’s approval of a highway expansion project that would increase air pollution.
The California Fifth Appellate Court ordered the Fresno Superior Court to vacate its prior decision dismissing the case and to conduct further hearings on whether Caltrans’ environmental review violated state law this April. In their report to us, Leadership Counsel highlighted their strategy of using litigation alongside policy advocacy and community organizing as key to the case’s success.
The Impact Fund granted $40,000 to support this case in 2023.