South Coast Air Quality Management District

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD, or some people just say AQMD) is an incredibly powerful air quality regulatory agency that has jurisdiction over a vast region that’s home to 17 million people — nearly half of California’s total population. The South Coast Air Basin includes most of Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange Counties, but doesn’t include desert regions that are separated from the basin by mountain ranges, like LA County’s Antelope Valley.

SCAQMD is overseen by a 13-member governing board appointed by various state, county, and municipal government officials with various appointment processes:

SCAQMD Board

  • State of California: 3

    • Governor: Gideon Kracov, environmental lawyer, also a governor’s appointee to the California Air Resources Board

    • Senate Rules Committee: Vanessa Delgado, former state senator for District 32 and former mayor of Montebello; currently a housing and commercial project developer (Chair)

    • Speaker of the Assembly: Veronica Padilla-Campos, executive director of Pacoima Beautiful

  • County of Los Angeles: 4

    • Board of Supervisors: Supervisor Holly Mitchell

    • Mayor of the City of Los Angeles: City of LA Councilmember Nithya Raman

    • Cities of Los Angeles County, Eastern Region: South Pasadena Councilmember Michael Cacciotti (Vice Chair)

    • Cities of Los Angeles County, Western Region: Lynwood City Councilmember José Luis Solache

  • County of Orange: 2

    • Board of Supervisors: Supervisor Andrew Do

    • Cities of Orange County: Yorba Linda Councilmember Carlos Rodriguez

  • County of Riverside: 2

    • Board of Supervisors: Supervisor V. Manuel Perez

    • Cities of Riverside County: Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson

  • County of San Bernardino: 2

    • Board of Supervisors: Supervisor Curt Hagman

    • Cities of San Bernardino County: Highland Mayor Larry McCallon

SCAQMD Power Dynamics

Due to the geographic makeup of the district — a majority of board seats are appointed by Republican officials who represent more rural areas — more conservative voices have historically dominated AQMD’s board. But that’s changed dramatically in recent years, in part because some places, like Orange County, are getting bluer, and also because some key appointments have placed more progressive leaders in power. But even the LA County appointees have long held strong connections to shipping, industry, and oil such as former LA Councilmember Joe Buscaino. With recent appointments like LA Councilmember Nithya Raman replacing Buscaino, that’s no longer the case.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, AQMD has been far too friendly to the worst offenders. This has taken the form of dragging out rule-making decisions over unnecessarily long periods and allowing polluting corporations — particularly fossil fuel companies and power plants — to avoid hefty fees when they fail to comply with emissions standards. But now the board is seeing more appointees like Delgado and Padilla-Campos who have a history of working closely with environmental justice groups, and those groups are demanding solutions to be implemented in years, not decades.

Want to learn about to effectively advocate for AQMD crack down on polluters? Keep reading!