Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District

What Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District does

Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD) is a California regional government agency formed in 1974 through a joint powers agreement among Alpine, Mono, and Inyo Counties to enforce federal, state, and local air quality regulations within the Great Basin Valleys Air Basin. The agency operates the sole regulatory air quality monitoring network in the region, serving the rural Eastern Sierra population across three counties plus sensitive populations (children, elderly, individuals with heart or lung conditions) during dust and wildfire smoke events. Core functions include ambient air quality monitoring, regulatory permitting and enforcement for stationary pollution sources, two-stage health advisory issuance, and public dissemination of real-time air quality data.

GBUAPCD's technical infrastructure combines EPA-approved federal reference and federal equivalent method instruments (Met One EBAM, Teledyne T640, ThermoFisher TEOM 1400, TEOM 1405 DF, Partisol) for PM10 and PM2.5 measurement, supplemented by a grant-funded Purple Air low-cost community sensor network and a 24+ location air quality camera system spanning Owens Lake, Owens Valley, Mono Lake, and Coso Junction. The Health Advisory Program issues SMS and email alerts when hourly PM10 exceeds 400 µg/m³ (Stage 1 dust) or 100 µg/m³ (Stage 1 wildfire smoke), with Stage 2 thresholds at 800 µg/m³ and 200 µg/m³ respectively. Monitoring data is integrated into the EPA AirNow national platform for broader visibility.

GBUAPCD does not operate a commercial go-to-market motion; services are funded through regulatory compliance fees on stationary pollution sources, county appropriations, and state grants (notably California Air Resources Board funding for the Purple Air network). Distribution occurs through the public gbuapcd.org portal, the EPA AirNow integration, county public health department partnerships, and SMS/email notification signups for citizens, schools, and media outlets. The agency is led by Air Pollution Control Officer Ann Logan and Deputy Air Pollution Control Officer Grace Weitz and operates with approximately 25 named staff across monitoring, regulatory, and administrative functions.

Name

Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District

Legal name

Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District

Website

https://gbuapcd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District is a California regional government agency, founded in 1974, that enforces air quality regulations and operates regulatory-grade monitoring, health advisory, and camera networks for Alpine, Mono, and Inyo Counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Air Quality Monitoring and Regulation

NAICS

Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (92411), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Monitoring, Data & Reporting (Air/Water/Soil) (BPAIAMAC), Continuous/Remote Monitoring Systems (IoT Sensors, Telemetry, Networks) (EUAHACAL)

Keywords

• Air quality monitoring
• Air pollution regulation
• Public health advisories
• Regulatory enforcement
• Particulate matter monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Bishop

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Regulatory Compliance Fees: As a joint powers authority formed by Alpine, Mono, and Inyo Counties, the district is funded through regulatory compliance fees from stationary sources of pollution and government appropriations.
2. Government Grants: Received grant from California Air Resources Board to deploy Purple Air low-cost sensor network throughout the district.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GBUAPCD operates a regional air quality monitoring and regulatory enforcement program across Alpine, Mono, and Inyo Counties, providing ambient PM10 and PM2.5 measurements via EPA-approved instruments, real-time public data via its website, and a two-stage Health Advisory Program (email/SMS) triggered by particulate matter thresholds. The agency also issues dust control and wildfire smoke advisories, supported by an Air Quality Camera Network and a Purple Air low-cost sensor community network.

Product overview

Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District is a California regional government agency offering a comprehensive suite of air quality monitoring services to protect public health in Alpine, Mono, and Inyo Counties. The core offering consists of regulatory-grade ambient air quality monitoring using federal reference methods, real-time Current Concentrations data, AQI NowCasts forecasting, and a two-stage Health Advisory Program with SMS/email notifications. Supporting infrastructure includes a network of Air Quality Cameras at Owens Lake, Owens Valley, Mono Lake, and Coso Junction, along with a PurpleAir Low-Cost Sensor Network for expanded community monitoring. The district also provides Active Smoke tracking for wildfire events and Particulate Matter monitoring using EPA-approved instruments. These interconnected services enable the agency to enforce air quality standards, issue health advisories, and provide public access to air quality data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Air Quality Monitoring Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Stage 1 advisory issued when PM10 exceeds 400 µg/m³ for dust or 100 µg/m³ for wildfire smoke; Stage 2 advisory issued when PM10 exceeds 800 µg/m³ for dust or 200 µg/m³ for wildfire smoke

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mono County Public Health DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership in developing wildfire smoke recommendations. Mono County Health Officer Dr. Tom Boo serves as a contact for wildfire smoke information.
• Inyo County Health and Human Services DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership in developing wildfire smoke recommendations. Inyo County Health Officer Dr. James Richardson serves as a contact for wildfire smoke information.
• Alpine County Public Health DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership in developing wildfire smoke recommendations. Alpine County Health Officer Dr. Richard Johnson serves as a contact for wildfire smoke information.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (AirNow)coreTechnology or IntegrationGBUAPCD monitoring data integrated into EPA AirNow platform for national air quality index visibility. Provides 72-hour smoke predictions through EPA-supported tools.
• Watch DutyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWatch Duty app referenced as resource for monitoring active fires affecting air quality in the district.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• California Air Resources Board (CARB): State-level air quality regulator that oversees and funds California APCDs. Directly comparable as the parent regulator in California's air quality framework, and an active grant provider and policy counterpart to GBUAPCD.
• Bay Area Air Quality Management District: California regional air quality agency covering the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. Comparable mission (ambient monitoring, regulatory enforcement, public advisories) but operates at larger scale with more sophisticated public-facing digital tools.
• South Coast Air Quality Management District: The largest air quality management agency in the United States, covering the four-county Southern California region. While far larger, it shares the same statutory role of enforcing federal/state air quality standards and operating ambient monitoring networks in California.

Direct peers

• Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District: Serves the Antelope Valley region of Los Angeles and Kern Counties. Comparable as a California air district with overlapping dust and PM10 monitoring challenges, and a similarly small rural/semi-rural jurisdiction.
• Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District: Neighboring California air quality agency covering the western Mojave Desert, including parts of Kern, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles Counties. Highly comparable due to similar rural/high-desert geography, dust-driven PM10 concerns, and analogous regulatory and monitoring scope.
• San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District: California's largest APCD by geographic area, covering eight counties. Directly comparable as a California regional government air pollution control district with regulatory enforcement, ambient monitoring, and public health advisory responsibilities, though operating at much larger scale.
• Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District: California APCD covering Sacramento County. Operates an analogous ambient air quality monitoring network and public health advisory system, with comparable regulatory and outreach scope, though at a larger urban scale.

Others

• US Forest Service (BlueSky Smoke Tools): Provider of the ANSAC-1.33km 72-hour smoke prediction model that GBUAPCD layers into its wildfire smoke advisories. An enabling ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.
• PurpleAir: Vendor of the low-cost PM sensors that GBUAPCD has deployed across its three counties via CARB grant funding. Comparable as an ecosystem participant in the community-scale air quality monitoring space the district operates in.
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) AirNow Program: Federal program that aggregates real-time air quality data from monitoring agencies nationwide. Already integrated with GBUAPCD's data feeds and provides the national AQI platform alongside which the district's local monitoring is consumed.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gbuapcd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District