Background:
AB 617 requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) with input from air districts, including Sac Metro Air District, to identify the communities with the highest air pollution burden to develop new community-focused programs, including the deployment of community air monitoring. Community air monitoring is intended to measure localized community exposure from criteria air pollutants and toxic air contaminants. For the first year implementation, air districts with identified communities for community air monitoring are required to deploy monitoring systems by July 1, 2019. All data collected from community air monitoring is required to be shared with CARB and the public.
The District already has a robust air monitoring network with multiple sites across the county to assess regional air quality and to demonstrate compliance with federal and state health standards for criteria pollutants. To complement our existing regulatory network, the District is exploring additional monitoring approaches and emerging technologies, such as a mobile monitoring laboratory and low-cost sensors, to provide the District with a better understanding of local concentrations of ambient air pollutions. Community air monitoring will also determine baseline emissions levels that will be used in the development of a future community emission reduction program.
