How to File Air Pollution Complaints

How to Report an Air Pollution Complaint

 

What can you complain about and who do you complaint to? How do you report air pollution concerns?

First, you can report anything that you think is affecting the air you breathe. This can be anything from odors you’re smelling that might be coming from a facility to dust getting kicked up by trucks or other vehicles, to smoke coming out of a truck exhaust system. Some of the most common types of air pollution complaints include:

-       Dust

-       Odor

-       Illegal Burning

-       Visible Emissions 

-       Smoking Vehicles

-       Idling Vehicles

But what happens when you see an air pollution concern and CARB or the Air District are not around to witness or take action?

When you see a potential problem, it is important to note a couple of important elements to be able to describe what’s happening as best you can.  

     WHAT is your complaint about?

WHERE does it occur?

WHEN does it occur? Is it ongoing?

WHO is the potential source?

WHY should you complain?

 

Remember, it is okay to complain simply if

something is a nuisance. A nuisance is a person, thing, or circumstance causing inconvenience or annoyance. Is there anything in the area that you consider an annoyance? Such as an odor from a facility or idling trucks? You can report that as well.

Now onto the tricky part – where do you report these concerns? 

CARB traditionally regulates mobile sources of air pollution, and Air Districts regulate stationary sources. A stationary source is something that is bolted to the ground or otherwise does not move, while mobile sources move throughout the state.  Through memorandums of understanding, some air districts assist with mobile source enforcement. 

In response to an increasing number of stationary source complaints reported by communities throughout the state, CARB has been increasing its focus on stationary sources.

This exemplifies that the more vocal you are regarding reporting these concerns the more CARB and Air Districts know about what’s happening in the areas you live and the more enforcement actions that can be taken. You know best about what’s happening in your community. The best way to make regulatory agencies aware of your concern is to report it, and to continuing reporting it every day that it occurs. Complaints from the community are one of the greatest tools enforcement has to identify violations. It is important for you, as the reporting party, to be both patient and persistent. Sometimes these concerns cannot be fixed or identified in a single complaint. The important part is to keep reporting these concerns to make sure CARB and Air Districts know there is still a problem occurring.

If an air pollution complaint requires an immediate response, contact the Air District first. CARB is based in Sacramento and El Monte whereas the Air Districts have inspectors located throughout the State so are able to respond to complaints more quickly. The following is a list of how to file complaints in each of the AB 617 air districts. For other air districts, visit https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/california-air-districts to see what Air District has authority in your area, or reach out to coes@arb.ca.gov and someone will follow-up with you.

Amador County APCD Includes all of Amador County	(209) 257-0112 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Antelope Valley AQMD Includes northeast portion of Los Angeles County	(661) 723-8070 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Bay Area AQMD Includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo,  and Santa Clara counties, and the western portion of Solano and  southern portion of Sonoma counties	(415) 749-5000 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Butte County AQMD Includes all of Butte County	(530)332-9400 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Calaveras County APCD Includes all of Calaveras County	(209) 754-6399 Public Notice Webpage
Colusa County APCD Includes all of Colusa County	(530) 458-0590 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Eastern Kern APCD Includes eastern portion of Kern County	(661) 862-5250 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
El Dorado County AQMD Includes all of El Dorado County	(530) 621-7501 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Feather River AQMD Includes all of Sutter and Yuba counties	(530) 634-7659 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Glenn County APCD Includes all of Glenn County	(530) 934-6500 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Great Basin Unified APCD Includes all of Alpine, Inyo, and Mono counties	(760) 872-8211 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Imperial County APCD Includes all of Imperial County	(442) 265-1800 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Lake County AQMD Includes all of Lake County	(707) 263-7000 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Lassen County APCD Includes all of Lassen County	(530)-252-4247 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Mariposa County APCD Includes all of Mariposa County	(209) 966-3689 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Mendocino County AQMD Includes all of Mendocino County	(707) 463-4354 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Modoc County APCD Includes all of Modoc County	(530) 233-6401 Complaint Webpage
Mojave Desert AQMD  Includes the Northern portion of San Bernardino County, and the eastern portion of Riverside County	(760) 245-1661 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Monterey Bay Air Resources District Includes all of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz counties	(831) 647-9411 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
North Coast Unified AQMD Includes all of Del Norte, Humboldt, and Trinity counties	(707) 443-3093 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Northern Sierra AQMD Includes all of Nevada, Plumas, and Sierra counties	(530) 274-9360 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Northern Sonoma County APCD Includes Northern portion of Sonoma County	(707) 433-5911 Complaint Webpage
Placer County APCD Includes all of Placer County	(530) 745-2330 Complaint Webpage
Sacramento Metro AQMD Includes all of Sacramento County	(916) 874-4800 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
San Diego County APCD Includes all of San Diego County	(858) 586-2600 Complaint Webpage
San Joaquin Valley APCD Includes all of Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus,  Tulare, and Valley air basin portions of Kern counties	(559) 230-6000 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
San Luis Obispo County APCD Includes all of San Luis Obispo County	(805) 781-5912 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Santa Barbara County APCD Includes all of Santa Barbara County	(805) 961-8800 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Shasta County AQMD Includes all of Shasta County	(530) 225-5674 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Siskiyou County APCD Includes all of Siskiyou County	(530) 841-4025 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
South Coast AQMD Includes Los Angeles County except for areas covered by the Antelope Valley AQMD, Orange County, and the western portion of San Bernardino and Riverside counties	(909) 396-2000 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Tehama County APCD  Includes all of Tehama County	(530)527-3717 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Tuolumne County APCD Includes all of Tuolumne County	(209) 533-5693 Complaint Webpage
Ventura County APCD Includes all of Ventura County	(805) 303-4005 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage
Yolo-Solano AQMD Includes all of Yolo and the eastern portion of Solano counties	(530) 757-3650 Complaint Webpage | Public Notice Webpage

In addition to filing your complaints with Air Districts, it is also a good idea to submit it on the CalEPA website at https://calepa.ca.gov/enforcement/complaints/. If you don’t have access to a computer, you can also call CARB’s hotline at 1-800-END-SMOG (363-7664). The CalEPA Website allows us to report many different types of environmental concerns to one place and have them directed to the proper environmental agency. Your complaint will be sent to the appropriate state or local agencies, depending on your location and the type of environmental problem you select. CalEPA’s boards and departments work with more than 400 local agencies that enforce environmental laws. This website saves you the trouble of having to find out which agency is the appropriate one.

As you can see from the screenshot, you can report Air, Water, Toxic Substance, Pesticide and Solid Waste complaints here by checking the appropriate box. You can also change the page language to Spanish by clicking on the box that says English at the top.

While not mandatory, it is helpful to provide your contact information if you’re comfortable doing so because it allows an inspector to contact you to obtain additional information and follow-up on your complaint. CARB and Air Districts will never share your information with the responsible party. Your complaint will get a reference number when using CalEPA’s system to help you identify your complaint for follow-up.