Say you’re taking a walk after work and you notice a strange smell in the air. Maybe it’s nothing, or maybe it’s a chemical or a spill of some sort. Should you report it? Although many cities offer reporting apps and services, not all are available in county areas. That’s where environmental reporting comes in, and one network already being used in some San Joaquin Valley areas is now available in Tulare County. It’s called IVAN, or Identifying Violations Affecting Neighborhoods, and it’s been around in other counties for years . It works like this: You smell pesticide drift, witness illegal dumping, or spot a leaking sewer, then simply fill out a report online. The website also lists local agencies that can accept reports. “Residents are empowered to report environmental problems affecting their communities and hold regulators accountable,” says Central California Environmental Justice Network director Nayamin Martinez, who helped launch IVAN in Tulare. After receiving more than 1,000
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