The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District is made up of eight counties in California’s Central Valley: San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin portion of Kern. The Valley Air District is governed by an fifteen member Governing Board consisting of representatives from the Board of Supervisors of all eight counties, one Health and Science member, appointed by the Governor, one Physician, appointed by the Governor and five Valley city representatives. The Air District’s Mission & Vision Core Values The Jurisdiction Puzzle Where the District Gets its Funding Making Progress

The Air District’s Mission

The San Joaquin Valley Air District is a public health agency whose mission is to improve the health and quality of life for all Valley residents through efficient, effective and entrepreneurial air quality-management strategies.

The Air District’s Vision

Healthful air that meets or exceeds air quality standards for all Valley residents. The District is a leader in air-pollution control. Valley residents take pride in our collective efforts to continuously improve air quality.

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Core Values

Protection of Public Health – The District shall continue to strive to protect the health of Valley residents through efforts to meet health-based state and federal ambient air-quality standards.

Active and effective air pollution control efforts with minimal disruption to the Valley’s economic prosperity – District staff shall work diligently to adopt and fully implement cost-effective air pollution-control measures, provide meaningful incentives for reducing emissions, and develop creative alternatives for achieving emissions reductions.

Outstanding Customer Service – District staff shall work to provide excellent customer service for stakeholders in activities including: rule and plan development; permitting and emissions inventory functions; compliance activities; financial and grant-funding transactions; and responses to public complaints and inquiries.

Ingenuity and innovation - The District values innovation and ingenuity in meeting the challenges we face. Examples of this spirit of innovation include developing programs that provide new incentives for emissions reductions, and providing alternate compliance strategies that supplement traditional regulatory efforts and generate more emissions reductions than could otherwise be reasonably obtained.

Accountability to the public – The District serves, and is ultimately accountable to, the people of the Valley for the wise and appropriate use of public resources, and for accomplishing the District’s mission with integrity and honesty.

Open and transparent public processes – The District shall continue to provide meaningful opportunities for public input and be responsive to all public inquiries.

Recognition of the uniqueness of the San Joaquin Valley – The Valley’s meteorology, topography and economy differ significantly from those in other jurisdictions. Although it is valuable to review and evaluate efforts of other agencies, we must consistently look for solutions that fully consider the Valley’s unique needs.

Continuous improvement –The District works to continually improve its internal operations and processes, and strives to streamline District operations through optimally utilizing information technology and human resources.

Effective and efficient use of public funds – The District shall continually strive to efficiently use all resources and to minimize costs associated with District functions.

Respect for the opinions and interest of all Valley residents – The District shall respect the interests and opinions of all Valley residents and fully consider these opinions, working collaboratively, in carrying out the District’s mission.

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The Jurisdiction Puzzle

Federal and state laws require emission control measures in areas where air pollution exceeds standards. The San Joaquin Valley is one of these areas. With a variety of state and federal agencies implementing air pollution reduction programs, it can be difficult to understand the mission and jurisdiction of each organization.

The federal government, primarily through the Environmental Protection Agency, sets standards, oversees state and local actions, and implements programs for toxic air pollutants, heavy-duty trucks, locomotives, ships, aircraft, off-road diesel equipment, and some types of industrial equipment.

State government, through the Air Resources Board and Bureau of Automotive Repair, sets more stringent state standards, oversees local actions, and implements programs for motor vehicle emissions, fuels, and smog checks.

Local air pollution control districts, such as the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (Valley Air District), develop plans and implement control measures in their areas. These controls primarily affect stationary sources such as factories and plants. Local air districts also conduct public education and outreach efforts such as the Valley Air District’s Healthy Air Living , Wood Burning, and Smoking Vehicle voluntary programs.

Local cities and counties are responsible for implementing air friendly community planning that promotes pedestrian traffic, commute alternatives and cleaner transit fleets. While their jurisdiction and specific programs may vary, all of these organizations share a common goal: to work cooperatively in establishing comprehensive air quality control programs to benefit all California residents.

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Where the District Gets its Funding

The revenue to fund the District’s annual operating budget comes from the following three sources: Permit fees paid annually by applicable businesses operating within the District.

Motor vehicle registration fees generated by a $19 surcharge fee for every vehicle registered within the
District. A part of these fees are used for the internal operations of the District and a portion is distributed
to qualified applicants for programs intended to reduce vehicle emissions.

These include the REMOVE and Heavy-Duty Engine Incentive programs.  The District receives federal and state grants annually from the California Air Resources Board and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The chart (at right) illustrates the approximate breakdown of the three revenue sources by percentage:

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Making Progress

Air pollution within the District comes from a variety of sources. These include industrial facilities, vehicles and consumer products. The pie chart below illustrates the sources of ozone components and their levels.

Emissions of reactive organic gases and oxides of nitrogen Estimated by California Air Resources Board

Emissions of reactive organic gases and oxides of nitrogen
Estimated by California Air Resources Board

Efforts to reduce emissions from these sources are required by federal and state mandates such as the Federal Clean Air Act Amendments and the California Clean Air Act. Though effective air pollution control programs are still needed, past efforts have brought about an overall improvement in air quality, as illustrated below.

The Valley’s air quality has improved significantly despite a natural low capacity for pollution, created by unique geography, topography, and meteorology.

The Valley has reduced emissions at the same rate or better than other areas in California.

The amount of pollution per square mile released in Los Angeles is about ten times more than the San Joaquin Valley. The amount of pollution per square mile released in the Bay Area is about six times more than the San Joaquin Valley.

South Coast air quality is only marginally worse than the San Joaquin Valley’s in spite of a much greater pollution density. The Bay Area’s air quality is much better than the San Joaquin Valley’s, even though more pollution is released in the Bay Area. The San Joaquin Valley is the first air basin classified as “serious nonattainment” to come into attainment of the PM10 standards. This is a historic achievement unparalleled by any other region in the nation.

Although the challenges are great, air-quality is improving in the San Joaquin Valley and the Valley Air District is committed to seeing all our air-quality goals reached.

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