Our Current
Grant Funded Projects
At Chasten Gold, we believe in the power of community-led transformation. Our work is made possible through strategic grant partnerships that support environmental justice, public health education, and meaningful resident engagement. Each grant we receive allows us to deliver impactful programs, build local capacity, and drive sustainable change in historically underserved communities. We are committed to transparency, accountability, and using these resources to amplify the voices of those most affected.
Technical Assistant Grants (TAG), Funded by DTSC
Chasten Gold is proud to be a recipient of the 2025–2026 Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) from the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). This funding supports our work in community outreach, technical advising, and environmental justice initiatives in impacted neighborhoods. Through this grant, we aim to empower residents with knowledge, tools, and resources to actively participate in environmental cleanup and revitalization efforts. Follow us on our social media pages or join our mailing list to be notified of upcoming events!
We are currently seeking applications for Technical Advisors! Please submit the below Request for Statement of Qualifications by the deadline, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 5:00PM.
Chasten Gold Makes a Difference at the West Sacramento Environmental Celebration!
On April 4th, Chasten Gold proudly participated in the West Sacramento Earth Day Celebration, where we hosted two interactive community booths focused on the SMUD Thornton Avenue Site and the Twin Rivers Triangle Site. Through these stations, we provided residents with accessible, easy-to-understand information about toxic chemicals present in the area and ongoing efforts to assess and address contamination at each site. Our goal was to increase awareness while creating a welcoming space for community members to learn, ask questions, and engage in meaningful conversations about environmental health.
Children and families were especially drawn to our hands-on “clean-up” activity, which demonstrated how invisible germs and toxins can remain on hands after outdoor play and why proper handwashing is so important. To reinforce these lessons, we distributed hand sanitizer and free copies of "The Day I Met Captain Fresh", helping children connect the experience to everyday healthy habits. The event was a meaningful opportunity to educate, empower, and connect with the community in a fun, family-friendly environment.
Children's Book Teaches the Importance of Community Safety
On March 20, 2026, Isaah Alford recently delivered two engaging and interactive presentations to over 400 elementary school students, featuring a live reading of his curated children’s book, "The Day I Met Captain Fresh." The story follows a curious young boy who learns the importance of washing his hands after playtime, transforming a simple daily habit into a fun and memorable lesson. Through expressive storytelling and audience participation, students were invited to connect with the story while building awareness around personal health and hygiene.
These presentations extended beyond literacy by reinforcing key environmental health concepts, including how germs can spread through everyday activities and the importance of handwashing in protecting both individual and community health. By combining education with entertainment, Isaah created a meaningful experience that empowered students to adopt healthier habits, engage in thoughtful discussions, and carry these lessons into their homes and communities.
Sacramento Environmental Coalition
Our Environmental Coalition is a community-driven space where residents, local leaders, and environmental experts come together to learn, share, and take action on issues impacting our neighborhoods. Through our Technical Assistance Grant (TAG), we focus on making complex topics, like soil contamination, hazardous substances, and environmental health, easier to understand and more accessible for everyday families. The goal is simple: ensure our community has the knowledge and voice needed to stay informed and protected.
The coalition also serves as a bridge between the community and decision-makers. We provide updates on local sites, explain what cleanup efforts mean in real life, and create opportunities for residents to ask questions, share concerns, and influence the process. Whether it’s through community meetings, workshops, or outreach events, we are committed to transparency, education, and empowerment, because everyone deserves to understand what’s happening in their environment and how it affects their health.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Our FAQ sheets are designed to break down complex environmental topics into clear, easy-to-understand information for our community. We know that terms like “arsenic contamination,” “soil exposure,” or “hazardous waste” can feel overwhelming, so we’ve created these resources to answer the most common questions in a way that’s simple, practical, and relevant to everyday life. Each sheet focuses on key topics related to local sites and environmental health, helping residents understand what’s happening around them and why it matters.
These materials are more than just information, they’re tools for empowerment. Whether you’re a parent, resident, or community member, our FAQ sheets provide guidance on how to stay safe, what signs to look out for, and where to go for more support. We encourage families to take them home, share them, and use them as conversation starters, because informed communities are stronger, safer, and better equipped to advocate for their health.
Click the FAQ Sheets below to get more information on our scientific research from our Technical Advisors:
1 1
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
7 7
8 8
9 9
10 10
11 11
12 12
Environmental Coalition Blogs
Sewage, Air Toxics, and the Kids Still Going to School Nearby
March 26, 2026: Written by Chasten Gold.
CalMatters reported today that sewage pollution tied to the Tijuana River continues to affect school communities in Imperial Beach. When wastewater system failures or spills send raw sewage into the river in Mexico, the impacts cross the border, and residents describe symptoms including asthma, migraines, rashes, nausea, eye irritation, dizziness, and brain fog when hydrogen sulfide odors drift inland.
This is one of those stories that makes the environmental justice stakes painfully clear. Children should not have to learn in conditions shaped by chronic pollution exposure. Whether the source is sewage, industrial contamination, or toxic dust, the pattern is the same: communities closest to the hazard are often the ones with the least power to stop it. That is why community science, technical advising, and strong interagency accountability still matter so much in 2026.
Source link: CalMatters
Broken Links, Buried Records, and Why Transparency Is a Public Health Issue
March 26, 2026: Written by Chasten Gold.
This month, CalMatters reported that California’s hazardous waste regulator placed hundreds of pages of federal road accident reports into a rulemaking record tied to a proposed hazardous waste transport change, but provided a broken public link and directed interested readers to file public records requests instead. According to the report, those documents describe years of hazardous-material incidents on public roads, including crashes and spills.
Let’s be real: when communities have to go hunting for records about toxic transport risk, confidence drops fast. Transparency is not extra. It is part of environmental protection. If the state is considering looser transport rules, the public should be able to review the evidence clearly, quickly, and in plain sight. The communities carrying the risk should never be the last ones to access the file.
Source link: CalMatters
Emergency Cleanup Orders Show Why Rapid Response Still Matters
February 18, 2026: Written by Chasten Gold.
On February 12, 2026, DTSC announced an emergency cleanup order for a residential site in San Diego. While each site has its own specifics, the larger lesson is simple: when hazardous materials are found in places where people live, response time matters. DTSC framed the action as an immediate public health protection measure, reinforcing the agency’s authority to step in when contamination poses an urgent risk.
For community members watching local toxic sites, emergency orders are a reminder that contamination is not always theoretical or historical. Sometimes it is active, immediate, and sitting right where families sleep and children play. That is why technical assistance, public notice, and trust-building with residents are so critical. Communities deserve to know what was found, what the exposure pathways are, and what the cleanup timeline actually looks like, without having to fight for every detail.
Source link: DTSC
CalEnviroScreen Gets an Update —
And That Matters for Frontline Neighborhoods
February 11, 2026: Written by Chasten Gold Staff.
In February, CalMatters reported that California’s pollution-screening tool, CalEnviroScreen, was being updated to include diabetes prevalence and small air toxic sites. The update also improves some underlying data, including adding children’s blood lead information into part of the lead exposure assessment.
This is important because tools like CalEnviroScreen shape how disadvantage is identified and how some resources are targeted. They are not perfect, but they matter. If a screening model better captures vulnerability, especially in places with multiple low-level toxic stressors, then communities have a stronger shot at being seen, counted, and prioritized. And honestly, that is half the battle in environmental justice work: proving on paper what residents have already been living in their bodies.
Source link: CalMatters / OEHHA draft materials
Seven Years Late: The Cumulative Impact Rules Communities Were Waiting On
January 29, 2026: Written by Chasten Gold.
Later that month, CalMatters dug into California’s long-delayed hazardous waste permitting rules. A 2015 law had required DTSC to account for cumulative impacts from multiple pollution sources, but the draft rules arrived seven years late. The proposal would require facilities seeking new permits to profile demographics and environmental risks within one mile, and do more detailed assessments in highly burdened communities, but critics said the rules still would not allow denial based on cumulative pollution alone.
That is exactly why community members stay frustrated. If the law recognizes that people are exposed to more than one source of harm at a time, then regulation has to reflect that reality. Communities are not breathing, drinking, or living one pollutant at a time. They are carrying the total load. A framework that measures cumulative risk but still struggles to act on it can feel like acknowledgment without protection.
Source link: CalMatters
After the Fire: Toxic Soil Is the Next Emergency
January 14, 2026: Written by Chasten Gold.
CalMatters reported in January 2026 that ash from the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires left behind a toxic residue in soil and homes, including heavy metals and synthetic chemicals from burned structures. The story noted that no federal or California mandate established a clear standard for soil testing after the fires, and that local public health, nonprofit, and academic groups had to step in with testing support.
That matters because fire recovery is not over when the flames are out. Post-fire contamination can create a second disaster, especially for children, gardeners, and families spending time in bare soil. For communities already familiar with arsenic, lead, and soil exposure concerns, this reporting reinforces a basic environmental health principle: remediation has to include assessment, not just debris removal. If we do not test what remains, we cannot honestly say an area is safe.
Source link: CalMatters
Tijuana River Pollution Is California’s Problem Too
December 17, 2025: Written by Chasten Gold.
In December, CalMatters reported that sewage contamination from the Tijuana River continued to affect Southern California communities, even as repairs to Mexico’s Punta Bandera plant improved capacity to 18 million gallons per day. Another December report said the federal government had pledged roughly two-thirds of a billion dollars toward cleanup efforts while local leaders pushed California to stay more engaged in the fight over cross-border pollution.
This might be hundreds of miles from Sacramento, but the lesson is statewide. Environmental health does not respect city limits, and neither do policy failures. When infrastructure breaks down and contaminated water and air affect schools, coastlines, and neighborhoods, that is a toxic exposure issue just like the ones inland communities deal with around soil, waste, and industrial sites. It is all connected through the same question: whose health gets treated like urgent business?
Source link: CalMatters
A State Plan, A Real Community Question: Who Actually Benefits?
December 10, 2025: Written by Chasten Gold.
By early December, criticism of California’s newly approved hazardous waste plan was already surfacing. The Los Angeles Times reported that environmental advocates worried the plan could weaken protections by encouraging review of federal recycling exemptions and potentially redefining what counts as hazardous waste.
That tension should sound familiar to anybody doing environmental justice work. Communities are not asking for a clever new framework if that framework comes with loopholes. They are asking for real protection. When policy starts talking more about flexibility than safety, people living near industrial operations have every right to ask whether “innovation” is being used as a substitute for prevention. The public health lens has to stay centered, especially for communities that have already been overexposed, overlooked, and overpromised.
Source link: Los Angeles Times coverage
California Approves Its Hazardous Waste Management Plan — But the Debate Is Far From Over
November 19, 2025: Written by Chasten Gold Staff.
On November 17, 2025, DTSC announced that the Board of Environmental Safety approved California’s 2025 Hazardous Waste Management Plan, calling it a roadmap for improving how hazardous waste is handled statewide. DTSC’s materials describe the plan as a guide for reducing harmful impacts on public health and the environment, shaped through hearings held in places including Sacramento.
Still, approval is not the same thing as consensus. For communities watching how hazardous waste decisions are made, the big question is whether the plan will actually translate into stronger prevention, cleaner facilities, and more accountability in neighborhoods already dealing with cumulative impacts. Planning language can sound polished, but residents will judge success by outcomes: fewer toxic burdens, better communication, and cleanup systems that do not leave working families carrying the risk.
Source link: DTSC / Board of Environmental Safety
From Brownfield to Home: A More Hopeful Cleanup Story
November 13, 2025: Written by Chasten Gold Staff.
Not every toxic site story ends in delay and frustration. In November, DTSC highlighted a San José redevelopment project where a remediated site is being turned into the Algarve Apartments, an affordable housing development expected to provide 90 homes, including 46 permanent supportive housing units.
For TAG-style community work, this is the kind of example worth lifting up. Brownfield remediation is not just about removing contamination; it is also about reclaiming land for something better. When cleanup is done right and paired with community-centered redevelopment, it can produce housing, stability, and visible proof that environmental restoration has social value. Communities in Sacramento deserve to see more examples where cleanup is not the end of the story... it is the beginning of reinvestment.
Source link: Dept. of Toxic Substances Control
The Paperwork Rule That Could Change Hazardous Waste Tracking
October 31, 2025: Written by Chasten Gold Staff.
At the end of October, CalMatters reported on a proposed California rule change that would make it easier, in some situations, to move hazardous waste without the same manifest-tracking requirements now used on public roads within a property boundary. Proponents, including the University of California system, said the change would improve efficiency and safety; critics warned that easing manifest requirements could weaken transparency around hazardous waste transport.
That may sound wonky, but manifest systems are a big deal. In the hazardous waste world, documentation is not busywork — it is traceability. It tells communities, workers, and regulators where dangerous materials are going and how they are being handled. When those records get looser, public trust can get looser too. For communities tracking contamination and cleanup, less paperwork can sometimes mean less visibility, and less visibility is never a small thing.
Source link: CalMatters
Cold War Pollution, Present-Day Communities
October 22, 2025: Written by Chasten Gold Staff.
In October, CapRadio highlighted an issue that feels especially relevant to the Sacramento region: contamination tied to former military activity near Lincoln. The report said testing in the early 1990s found trichloroethylene (TCE) in groundwater at the former military site, and that the plume has moved southwest toward the Sun City Lincoln Hills area, though regular testing had not found contamination reaching homes.
TCE is not the kind of contaminant communities can afford to ignore. It is a volatile organic compound with a long history in industrial and defense-related contamination cases, and it raises concerns about groundwater migration, vapor intrusion, and long-term remediation responsibilities. For people in the greater Sacramento area, this story is a reminder that contamination is not always dramatic or visible. Sometimes it moves slowly, quietly, and technically, which is exactly why independent community engagement and technical advising are so important.
Source link: CapRadio
Metal Shredders, Toxic Dust, and Who Gets Protected
September 30, 2025: Written by Chasten Gold Staff.
A late-summer fight over California Senate Bill 404 put metal shredding facilities under a bright spotlight. Reporting distributed by the AP explained that supporters said the bill would create a clearer statewide framework for recyclers, while opponents argued it could weaken protections by redefining hazardous waste, shifting authority, and increasing risk for already overburdened neighborhoods like West Oakland. The bill debate also followed concerns tied to past incidents, including fires and smoke events at shredding operations.
This story matters because it gets at a core environmental justice question: who bears the externalities of industry? Recycling sounds clean in theory, but when facilities handling complex mixed materials are linked to fires, toxic residue, and uncertain waste classification, nearby residents are right to demand stronger oversight. Communities do not need vague reassurance. They need enforceable standards, transparent monitoring, and regulation that puts health first.
Source link: Associated Press / Digital Democracy bill summary
When Pollution Rules Get Soft, Frontline Communities Feel It First
September 17, 2025: Written by Chasten Gold Staff.
In September 2025, CalMatters reported that California Senate leaders failed to fix a rollback in environmental law tied to advanced manufacturing, leaving unresolved concerns about how industrial projects could move forward with less scrutiny. The issue was not just political drama in the Capitol, it raised real questions about whether neighborhoods already carrying heavy pollution loads would be asked to absorb even more without adequate review or public input.
For environmental justice communities, that is the part we can never afford to normalize. When review standards loosen, communities near industrial corridors, freight routes, and cleanup sites are often the first to lose transparency and the last to receive protection. Sacramento residents following TAG-related work should see this as part of the bigger pattern: land use, permitting, and toxic exposure are deeply connected. What gets framed as “streamlining” can end up feeling like sacrifice when you are the one living next door to the impact.
Source link: CalMatters
Lead in the Dirt, Risk in the Details
August 27, 2025: Written By Chasten Gold Staff.
A fresh wave of research in August 2025 pushed California to take a harder look at whether its lead-in-soil standards are truly protective, especially for children. Harvard researchers recommended lowering California’s residential lead soil cleanup threshold from 80 mg/kg to 55 mg/kg and called for mandatory post-fire confirmatory soil testing, arguing that the current benchmark may rely on outdated modeling and may not be health-protective enough.
That kind of update matters far beyond wildfire zones. For TAG grant work and neighborhood toxic site conversations, lead and arsenic exposure are never just technical terms on a chart. They are community health issues tied to hand-to-mouth exposure, child development, and cumulative burden. When the science starts moving toward stricter thresholds, communities like ours should pay attention, because it reinforces a simple truth: cleanup goals have to match real-world vulnerability, not just old paperwork.
Source link: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health / related coverage
From the Delta to the Frontline: Why Abandoned Ships Are an Environmental Justice Issue
August 13, 2025: Written By Chasten Gold Staff.
Sometimes environmental harm does not show up looking like a smokestack or a fenced-off cleanup site. Sometimes it is an abandoned vessel sitting in the Delta, leaking risk into waterways people fish, boat, and live around. CapRadio reported that the long-troubled Aurora cruise ship cleanup involved removing more than 21,000 gallons of oily water, 3,100 gallons of hazardous waste, and multiple large bins of debris before the vessel was finally towed away for disposal. That is not just a marine story. That is a public health story, a watershed protection story, and a reminder that contamination can linger in plain sight until somebody pays attention.
For communities in and around Sacramento, this matters because the Delta is part of the broader ecological system that supports our region. When hazardous materials are left unmanaged near water, the conversation quickly moves from nuisance to exposure pathways, sediment impacts, and long-term cleanup costs. This is exactly why local residents need strong oversight, fast response systems, and real accountability from the agencies and operators responsible for protecting shared resources.
Source link: CapRadio
