South Coast Air Quality Management District

What South Coast Air Quality Management District does

South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) is a California state regulatory agency established in 1947 by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors as the nation's first air pollution control program, and now operating under California Health and Safety Code sections 40400-40540 (Lewis Presley Act). It holds exclusive statutory jurisdiction over air quality regulation across the four-county South Coast Air Basin (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley), home to more than 17 million residents (44% of California's population) and approximately 25,500 permitted facilities spanning refineries, power plants, manufacturers, and small businesses. The agency's functional mandate covers monitoring, rulemaking, permitting, inspection, enforcement, and incentive distribution under both the federal Clean Air Act and the California Clean Air Act, with civil penalty authority up to $75,000/day for individuals and $1 million/day for corporations.

The agency's core technology infrastructure consists of a network of approximately 40 permanent air quality monitoring stations plus 10 community monitoring sites near large refineries, supplemented by newer Aeroqual hyperlocal sensors deployed in disadvantaged communities such as Pacoima. Public-facing digital tools include F.I.N.D. (Facility INformation Detail) for facility search, the AER WebTool for annual emissions reporting, an online permit application portal (iCAFE), the Flare Event Notification System (FENS), a GIS Open Data portal, and the South Coast AQMD mobile application for air quality checks and No-Burn Day alerts. The agency also administers incentive programs including INVEST CLEAN (zero-emission goods movement), Carl Moyer Program, VW Environmental Mitigation Trust pass-through funding, Replace Your Ride, and the Residential Electric Lawn & Garden Equipment Rebate Program.

South Coast AQMD's revenue is approximately 73% fee-based (evaluation fees, annual operating fees, emission fees, Hearing Board fees, penalties and settlements, and investment income) with the remaining 27% sourced from federal grants, California Air Resources Board (CARB) subvention funds, and California Clean Air Act Motor Vehicle fees. The agency is governed by a 13-member Governing Board comprising elected officials and gubernatorial/legislative appointees, with no private shareholders, parent company, or equity holders. Its 892 employees operate from a single headquarters in Diamond Bar, California, and recent regulatory priorities include tightening Rules 1146/1146.1 for industrial boilers, implementing Rule 2306 freight rail yard emissions reductions (up to 82% by 2037), and supporting the deployment of heavy-duty electric truck charging infrastructure along the I-10 corridor.

Name

South Coast Air Quality Management District

Legal name

South Coast Air Quality Management District

Website

https://aqmd.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

South Coast Air Quality Management District is the California state regulatory agency with exclusive jurisdiction over stationary-source air pollution across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, serving 17 million residents and 25,500 permitted facilities through monitoring, permitting, enforcement, and incentive programs since 1947.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Air Quality Regulation

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241), Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (92411)

akta.pro primary industry

Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (Criteria Pollutants & Air Toxics) (EUAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Air Quality Compliance (Permits, NESHAP/MACT, Opacity, Stack/Process Requirements) (EUAHABAA), Greenhouse Gas (GHG) & Climate Regulatory Compliance (Mandatory Reporting, Cap-and-Trade Compliance) (EUAHABAG), Mobile Source & Fleet Emissions MRV (Transport, aviation, marine) (EUAHADAJ)

Keywords

• Air quality monitoring
• Emissions permitting
• Regulatory compliance enforcement
• Air pollution control
• Clean air incentives

Headquarters

HQ city

Diamond Bar

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Regulatory Fees: The agency generates approximately 73% of its revenue from evaluation fees, annual operating fees, emission fees, Hearing Board fees, penalties and settlements, and investments. Fees are assessed based on facility emissions and permit types.
2. Government Grants and Subventions: Remaining 27% of revenue comes from federal grants, California Air Resources Board (CARB) subvention funds, and California Clean Air Act Motor Vehicle fees.
3. Incentive Program Administration: The agency administers various incentive programs including Carl Moyer Program, Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust, Replace Your Ride, and residential electric equipment rebates, distributing funds to implement cleaner technologies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

South Coast AQMD is a California state regulatory agency that monitors air quality across a four-county region, issues operating permits to roughly 25,500 facilities, conducts inspections and enforcement actions, and administers incentive programs that fund cleaner technologies and zero-emission goods movement. It also publishes real-time air quality data, operates public reporting and permitting web tools, and runs residential programs such as Check Before You Burn and electric lawn equipment rebates.

Product overview

South Coast AQMD operates as a regulatory agency providing a suite of air quality management products and services rather than a unified commercial software platform. Its core technology offerings include F.I.N.D. (a public facility information database) and the AER WebTool (an annual emissions reporting system), supplemented by various online portals for permits, fee payments, and compliance services. The agency also administers incentive programs including electric lawn equipment rebates, the INVEST CLEAN zero-emission goods movement initiative, and the Check Before You Burn seasonal wood-burning restriction program. Air quality monitoring services are delivered through a network of approximately 40 permanent monitors plus 10 refinery-adjacent community sites.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• INVEST CLEAN: South Coast AQMD initiative advancing zero-emission goods movement and long-term air quality benefits across the region.
• Check Before You Burn
• F.I.N.D.
• Right to Breathe

Products and services

• F.I.N.D. (Facility INformation Detail) Web-based search tool that provides public access to information about facilities regulated by South Coast AQMD, including facility details, equipment lists, compliance history, and reported emissions data.
• Annual Emissions Reporting (AER) WebTool Web-based emissions reporting system that enables permitted facilities to enter operational data, calculate emissions and fees, and submit annual emissions reports to South Coast AQMD.
• Online Permit Application Portal Web-based system for submitting permit applications, calculating processing fees, and managing permits for businesses and facilities regulated by South Coast AQMD.
• Flare Event Notification System (FENS) Online notification system for refinery flare events that allows operators to report and the public to access information about emissions events at industrial facilities.
• Air Quality Monitoring Network Network of approximately 40 permanent air quality monitors and 10 additional community sites near refineries that continuously track pollution levels and notify the public when air quality is unhealthful.
• Check Before You Burn Program Seasonal residential wood-burning restriction program (November through February) that issues No-Burn Day alerts to limit fine particulate matter emissions, with exemptions for low-income households and homes relying on wood as sole heat source.
• Residential Electric Lawn & Garden Equipment Rebate Program Rebate program offering up to $250 for residents to replace gasoline-powered lawn equipment with cordless electric alternatives, including lawn mowers, leaf blowers, chainsaws, and trimmers, with up to 3 rebates per applicant.
• INVEST CLEAN Program Initiative advancing zero-emission goods movement and long-term air quality benefits across the South Coast region through funding and support for clean transportation technologies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Maximum ozone levels reduced to less than one quarter of 1950s levels despite population tripling and vehicle count quadrupling
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor, significant, moderate and core.

• Terawatt InfrastructureminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 25 April 2026Terawatt Infrastructure opened its first heavy-duty electric truck charging site in Rancho Dominguez, California featuring 20 charging stalls and 7 megawatts of capacity. Part of broader zero-emission goods movement infrastructure development in the region.
• ChargePointsignificantGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2026ChargePoint enabled over 90 EV charging ports for South Coast AQMD across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. The deployment included 55 new Level 2 ChargePoint units including CP6000 stations capable of serving 94 vehicles simultaneously with 60% faster charging. This supports South Coast AQMD's transportation electrification goals.
• GreenlanesignificantGTM or Marketing Partner · 7 May 2025Greenlane launched a heavy-duty electric truck charging facility in Colton, California with 40 chargers as part of the I-10 Consortium project for goods movement electrification along the Los Angeles to El Paso corridor. South Coast AQMD provided a $15 million grant to support the project. Greenlane is a joint venture between Daimler Truck North America and NextEra Energy Resources, partnered with Nevoya for electric fleet operations.
• SoCal Clean Manufacturing CoalitionmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoalition including Industrious Labs released a publicly accessible map showing locations of over 1,800 fossil fuel-burning industrial boilers across the region to pressure South Coast AQMD to adopt stricter zero-emission rules under Rules 1146 and 1146.1.
• Pacoima BeautifulmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity environmental group in Pacoima deployed air quality sensors provided by South Coast AQMD, including Aeroqual monitoring stations, to give residents hyperlocal pollution data. The neighborhood has over 81,000 people in seven square miles surrounded by three freeways, heavy industry, and a regional airport.
• California Air Resources Board (CARB)coreOthersState agency responsible for adopting motor vehicle emission standards, compiling SIP for submission to EPA, and providing oversight and funding to air districts. South Coast AQMD receives CARB subvention funds and submits plans for state approval.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Peers

• Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District:

Direct peers

• Bay Area Air Quality Management District: California regional air district covering the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Closest direct peer — operates under identical California Clean Air Act authority with comparable monitoring, permitting, enforcement, and incentive functions; recently advanced its own rules to phase out natural gas water heaters, mirroring SCAQMD's contested 1111/1121 rulemaking.
• San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District: California regional air district covering eight counties in the Central Valley with some of the nation's worst PM2.5 levels. Closely comparable in function (monitoring, permitting, incentive programs) and shares SCAQMD's structural challenge of severe non-attainment against federal standards, making it a benchmark peer for regulatory and incentive-program design.
• Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District: California regional air district covering Sacramento County and surrounding areas. Performs identical monitoring, permitting, compliance, and enforcement functions under the same California Clean Air Act framework, with a smaller jurisdictional scale but parallel program structure.
• San Diego County Air Pollution Control District: California regional air district covering San Diego County. Operates the same statutory functions (monitoring, permitting, rule development, enforcement) under California law, with a comparable regulatory toolset and substantially overlapping fee-and-grant revenue model.

Broad incumbents

• California Air Resources Board (CARB): State-level air quality agency that sets motor vehicle emission standards, compiles State Implementation Plans for EPA, and provides subvention funding to district-level agencies including SCAQMD. Functions as both a funding source and a regulatory superior, making it the most directly comparable state-level institution.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/southcoastaqmd
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/SouthCoastAQMD
• Facebookfacebook.com/south-coast-air-quality-management-district-scaqmd-630750133606830
• Instagraminstagram.com/southcoastaqmd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about South Coast Air Quality Management District