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Former Riverside County Supervisor Melba Dunlap represented District 2 which is home to both the Stringfellow Acid Pits and the community of Mira Loma with one of the highest concentrations of particulate matter in the country. Ms Dunlap also served on the South Coast Air Quality Management District from 1983 to 1984. She was Chair of the Riverside County Transportation Commission and was instrumental in bringing commuter rail and improved public transit service to Riverside County.
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Return to MAKING WAVES: WOMEN’S ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT
Biological Resources
Ms. Dunlap, as a Riverside County Supervisor, supported the creation of a nature reserve at the Santa Rosa Plateau.
Open Space and Parks
Ms. Dunlap, as a Riverside County Supervisor, supported the creation of a nature reserve at the Santa Rosa Plateau.
Ms. Dunlap initiated the transformation of DeAnza Narrows Park from an undeveloped area to a park named for one of the women environmentalists who saved the Santa Ana River.
Ms. Dunlap worked to get the US Army Corps of Engineers to fund the stabilization of the Norco Bluffs in her role as a Riverside County Supervisor.
As a Riverside County Supervisor, Ms. Dunlap initiated the development of the reach from Fairmount to Van Buren Boulevard.
Water Resources
Ms. Dunlap developed the County ordinance for water conservation landscaping at new homes in 1994.
Air Quality and Pollution
Ms. Dunlap was instrumental in the development and implementation of a plan to remove junked cars from Jurupa streets in her role as Chair of the Waste Management Committee of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. The program eventually went county wide.
Adequate transportation access and mobility for all have been Ms. Dunlap’s passion. As a Riverside County Supervisor she combined that vision with the goal of cleaner air. She was a key figure in bringing commuter rail to Riverside County through the passing of Measure A, Riverside County’s half cent sales tax for transportation. As a part of that effort, she ensured that access to transportation for seniors and disabled persons was included in the funding structure.
Ms. Dunlap served on the South Coast Air Quality Management District from 1983 to 1984 and has supported Penny Newman in her efforts to improve Mira Loma’s air quality, a curb the effects of the warehouse and distribution industry in the community.
As President of the Riverside Council PTA, Ms. Dunlap was involved in the fight for clean air, initiating a smog alert system for Riverside schools and lobbying for clean air legislation.
As a Riverside County Supervisor, Ms. Dunlap supported Penny Newman and her neighbors in the Glen Avon community, in their efforts to have the Stringfellow Acid Pits cleaned up. Dunlap named Newman to the Commission on the clean up as her representative.
Ms. Dunlap tackled abandoned cars at Cadillac Hill as a part of her effort to rid the county of abandoned cars polluting the local environment.
Transportation Resources
Adequate transportation access and mobility for all have been Ms. Dunlap’s passion. As a Riverside County Supervisor she combined that vision with the goal of cleaner air. She was a key figure in bringing commuter rail to Riverside County through the passing of Measure A, Riverside County’s half cent sales tax for transportation. As a part of that effort, she ensured that access to transportation for seniors and disabled persons was included in the funding structure.
Ms. Dunlap, as President of the Riverside Council PTA, participated in the effort to create a county wide bus service.
