Air Quality and Odor Complaints

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Clean HEET Program

BAAQMD - Clean HEET Program                                                                                                                                                

Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAQMD) is offering grants for homeowners to replace wood-burning heaters with electric heat pumps. Applications are now being accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds have been awarded.

Start your application here: https://baaqmdcleanheet.powerappsportals.com/pre-screen-register/

Up to $2 million in funding is available for the Clean HEET Program. Individual awards range from $3,000 - $10,500 for one stove/insert, and $6,000 - $13,500 for two stoves/inserts.

For more information visit, https://www.baaqmd.gov/funding-and-incentives/residents/clean-heet-program

Contact: 415-749-5195 | Email: woodsmokegrants@baaqmd.gov

Air Pollution Complaints 

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) is tasked with regulating stationary sources of air pollution in the nine counties that surround San Francisco Bay. For more information, visit BAAQMD's website at, https://www.baaqmd.gov/.

BAAQMD Complaint Form

Residents are encouraged to report air pollution and odor complaints to BAAQMD on either via their online complaint form or by calling their 24-hour toll-free hotline at 1-800-334-6367. Community members are keenly aware of air pollution events and often provide the first warning of air quality problems.

Examples of complaints include dust or chemical air pollutants emitted by industrial plants, refineries, neighborhood businesses, gas station nozzles, idling trucks, locomotives and buses; and smoke from agricultural fires, controlled burns, non-cooking backyard fires, and outdoor trash burning.

  1. Odor Complaints at Wastewater Treatment Facility
  2. Odor Complaints at West Contra Costa Sanitary Landfill

Odor Complaints at Wastewater Treatment Facility

The City is actively working with Veolia and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to address the cause of the odors and prevent odors from occurring at the facility. City staff will continue to monitor this issue. Residents impacted by odor should call the Bay Area Air Quality Management District odor complaint line at 1-800-334-ODOR (1-800-334-6367) and the Veolia 24-Hour Odor Hotline at (510) 412-2001.

The City of Richmond runs a monitoring program to measure the concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) near the Richmond Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) on Canal Blvd. To view the map or sign-up to receive email alerts when Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) levels reach 60 parts per billion (ppb) visit, https://richmondwpcp-h2s.org/.

AB 617 Richmond- San Pablo Community

Assembly Bill 617 (Garcia, C., Chapter 136, Statutes of 2017) is a State-mandated program that uses a community-based approach to reduce local air pollution in communities around the State that continue to experience disproportionate impacts from air pollution. Richmond is one of two focus communities for the Bay Area Air Quality District’s (BAAQMD) initial implementation of the AB 617 Richmond Area Community Health Protection Program. Richmond residents, businesses, a city staff representative were a part of the AB 617 Path to Clean Air Steering Committee which helped to guide the development of the Community Air Monitoring Plan. Local community leaders from Richmond's Clean Air Steering Committee are currently working with the Air District to develop a Community Emission Reduction Plan (CERP).Visit BAAQMD's website for program updates and information on meetings, www.baaqmd.gov/community-health/community-health-protection-program/richmond-area-community-health-protection-program.

Groundwork Richmond Community Air Monitors

The City of Richmond, in partnership with Groundwork Richmond and environmental consultant Ramboll, was awarded a grant from the California Air Resources Board to deploy 50 air monitoring sensors throughout the Richmond community. This effort is part of the State of California Assembly Bill 617 (AB 617) Community Air Protection Program. The 50 air monitors have been installed and provide real-time community-level air monitoring information. The concentrations and air quality index (AQI) values for PM 2.5 stated on the are currently uncalibrated estimates. This data cannot be directly compared to regulatory standards. More features will be added to the dashboard as we build out the program that will hopefully make these numbers more comparable to regulatory standards. The air monitoring data can also be found at, https://app.ramboll-shair.com/sfbayarea. 

Interested in installing an air monitor in your own resident, fill out the INTEREST FORM!

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AB 617 path to clean air monitoring meeting
Air monitoring data
  1. BAAQMD Resources for Understanding Air Quality Data
  2. Richmond Community Air Monitoring Program
  3. Chevron's Flare Minimization Plan

BAAQMD Resources for Understanding Air Quality Data

The most accurate air quality data comes from the Air District’s air monitoring stations. These data are available in the Air Quality Index (AQI) format on an hourly basis for subregions within the Bay Area at the Air District’s website: https://bit.ly/2p7UFgs. While the most accurate data comes from the Air District's air monitoring network, low-cost sensors can also provide important information about real-time changes in air quality. Alternatively, air pollution concentration data are also available on BAAQMD's website.

AQI Index

Note: Values above 500 are considered Beyond the AQI. Follow recommendations for the "Hazardous category." See additional information on reducing exposure to extremely high levels of particle pollution.


Community Emergency Alerts

Richmond residents and businesses are encouraged to sign-up for the Contra Costa County Community Warning System (CoCo CWS) and follow the Richmond Fire Department on Twitter to receive alerts about hazards and emergencies happening in their area.

 CoCo CWS Registration- English Opens in new window

Alertas de Emergencia Comunitaria

Se alienta a los residentes y negocios de Richmond a inscribirse en el Sistema de Advertencia de la Comunidad del Condado de Contra Costa (CoCo CWS) y seguir al Departamento de Bomberos de Richmond en Twitter para recibir alertas sobre peligros y emergencias que suceden en su área.

Las alertas de CWS en español incluyen SOLAMENTE alertas de instalaciones de materiales peligrosos.Si se registra para recibir alertas de instalaciones de materiales peligrosos en español, recibirá todas las demás alertas de peligros en ingles, en este momento.

CoCo CWS Registration- Spanish Opens in new window 

City of Richmond Fire Department Twitter

Contra Costa County Community Warning System