WESTERN STATES AIR RESOURCES COUNCIL

What WESTERN STATES AIR RESOURCES COUNCIL does

Western States Air Resources Council (WESTAR) is a private non-profit membership organization founded in 1988 by eight western state air agencies and headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Council now serves 15 western states stretching from Alaska to New Mexico and from Hawaii to the Dakotas, providing a regional forum for air quality coordination that individual state agencies cannot replicate independently. In 2013, WESTAR merged with the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP), broadening its membership to include tribal air agencies, local air agencies, U.S. EPA, and federal land managers.

WESTAR's core offerings consist of operating committees (Technical and Planning) plus specialized work groups covering Fire & Smoke, Oil & Gas, Regional Haze Planning, Regional Tech Operations, Emissions Inventory, and Tribal Data. It maintains technical infrastructure including the Regional Haze Technical Support System (TSS v3), the Air Data Management System (ADMS), and access to IMPROVE Network monitoring data via the Federal Land Manager Environmental Database. The organization also operates a Training Program delivering in-person and synchronous online courses, and provides member access to the AirKnowledge national training curriculum covering eight Clean Air Act program areas. Staff size is reported as 1-10 employees, and the organization is governed by a council of member states rather than shareholders.

WESTAR's revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed, and no registration fees are charged to state, local, or tribal air quality agency staff for training. The organization is funded through member contributions and operates as a coordination/association entity rather than a commercial software or services vendor. It has no public API, no commercial pricing model, and no venture capital or private equity ownership; governance is provided by the WESTAR Council and committees, with professional staff including a Training Manager and Planning/Technical Committee coordinator.

Name

WESTERN STATES AIR RESOURCES COUNCIL

Legal name

Western States Air Resources Council

Website

https://westar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WESTAR is a private non-profit membership organization, founded in 1988, that coordinates air quality policy, data, and training across 15 western U.S. state air agencies plus tribal, local, and federal partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Albuquerque

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WESTAR is a member-supported regional organization that facilitates coordination, information exchange, and training among 15 western state air pollution control agencies, plus tribal, federal, and local air partners. Its core offerings include committee-driven policy and technical forums (Technical Committee, Planning Committee, and specialized work groups), no-cost professional training programs for government air quality staff, and access to regional air quality data platforms such as the Regional Haze Technical Support System (TSS v3), Air Data Management System (ADMS), and IMPROVE monitoring network data.

Product overview

WESTAR operates as a regional air quality coordination organization, not a unified software product. Its core offerings consist of two operating committees (Technical and Planning) that address modeling, emissions inventory, monitoring, and policy issues for 15 member western states. The organization provides a Training Program with both in-person and online courses, including access to the AirKnowledge national training curriculum covering Clean Air Act program areas. Technical infrastructure includes the Regional Haze Technical Support System (TSS v3), Air Data Management System (ADMS), and access to IMPROVE monitoring data via the Federal Land Manager Environmental Database. In 2013, WESTAR merged with the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP), expanding membership to include federal, tribal, and local air agencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WESTAR Training Program
• AirKnowledge Training Curriculum
• Regional Haze Technical Support System (TSS v3)
• Air Data Management System (ADMS)
• WESTAR Technical Committee
• WESTAR Planning Committee
• Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 participants in rule writing training; 60-70+ participants in workshop series for air quality planners

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 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 core and minor.

• Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRAP merged with WESTAR in 2013. WRAP is a voluntary partnership of states, tribes, federal land managers, local air agencies and US EPA whose purpose is to understand current and evolving regional air quality issues in the West.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPA participates as a member agency through the WRAP partnership. WESTAR engages with EPA on regulatory comments, policy development, and EPA provides access to AirKnowledge training platform.
• Federal Land ManagerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal land management agencies participate through WRAP in regional haze planning and visibility protection efforts for national parks and wilderness areas.
• National Tribal Air Association (NTAA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNTAA publishes the annual Status of Tribal Air Report (STAR) which WESTAR highlights and shares with members. NTAA and WESTAR coordinate on tribal air quality matters.
• AirKnowledgecoreTechnology or IntegrationNational training program offering self-instructional training materials focused on Clean Air Act program areas. Eight curricula covering air pollution basics, planning, permitting, modeling, monitoring, emissions inventories, air toxics, and source testing. Accessed through EPA's learning management system.
• NASA HAQAST (Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASA team bringing satellite data and products to bear on air quality public health issues. WESTAR participates in HAQAST meetings and coordinates on applying NASA data to regional air quality management.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Environmental Council of the States (ECOS): National non-profit association of state environmental agency leaders covering air, water, and waste. Overlaps with WESTAR in providing cross-state environmental coordination and policy forums, but at a broader programmatic scope.
• Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI Inc.): Multi-state cooperative running a cap-and-trade carbon emissions program across northeastern states. Comparable as a multi-state coordination organization built on state agency governance, though operating a market mechanism rather than technical coordination.

Others

• Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA): International professional association for air quality, waste, and environmental management professionals. Adjacent to WESTAR through overlapping training, conference, and professional-development offerings for the same audience.
• Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University: Hosts the Regional Haze Technical Support System (TSS v3) and the Federal Land Manager Environmental Database that WESTAR promotes to members. Technical infrastructure partner rather than a competing peer.

Emerging players

• National Tribal Air Association (NTAA): Tribal air program advocacy and coordination organization that produces the annual Status of Tribal Air Report which WESTAR promotes. Adjacent peer working with WESTAR on the Tribal Data Work Group.

Direct peers

• Mid-Atlantic / Northeast Visibility Union (MANE-VU): Multi-jurisdictional organization coordinating regional haze visibility assessments across Mid-Atlantic and northeastern states. Closely comparable to WESTAR's Regional Haze Work Group and the wider WRAP regional haze charter.
• Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM): Membership organization of northeastern state air agencies providing technical research, policy analysis, and coordination on regional haze, ozone, and air toxics. Directly analogous to WESTAR in mission and member-driven governance model.
• Southeastern States Air Resource Managers (VISTAS/SESARM): Coordinating body for southeastern U.S. states on regional haze and visibility impairment assessments. Fulfills the same federal regional haze coordination role for the South that WESTAR/WRAP fulfills for the West.
• Ozone Transport Commission (OTC): Multi-state commission of eastern and Mid-Atlantic states addressing cross-state ozone transport under Section 184 of the Clean Air Act. Same compact-style air quality coordination model as WESTAR.
• Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO): Multi-state consortium of Great Lakes state air directors conducting technical analyses on emissions, air quality, and transport issues. Operates the same regional state-agency convening and modeling model as WESTAR.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/western-states-air-resources-council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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