Bay Area Air Quality Management District

The California Legislature created the Air District in 1955 as the first regional air pollution control agency in the country. The Air District is tasked with regulating stationary sources of air pollution in the nine counties that surround San Francisco Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southwestern Solano, and southern Sonoma counties. It is governed by a 24-member Board of Directors composed of locally elected officials from each of the nine Bay Area counties, with the number of board members from each county being proportionate to its population.

The Board oversees policies and adopts regulations for the control of air pollution within the district. The Board also appoints the Air District’s Executive Officer/Air Pollution Control Officer, who implements these policies and gives direction to staff, as well as the District Counsel, who manages the legal affairs of the agency. The Air District consists of over 340 dedicated staff members, including engineers, inspectors, planners, scientists, and other professionals.

The Air District is assisted by an Advisory Council that provides input to the Board and the Executive Officer on air quality matters and a Hearing Board. The Hearing Board is an independent, five-member body that serves to adjudicate regulatory compliance issues that may arise between the Air District and local industries, and also hears appeals of permitting decisions made by the Executive Officer.