In 1997, the Air District's Lawn Mower Buyback Program offered residents rebates for turning in inefficient, high-polluting gas-powered mowers and replacing them with electric ones. Old mowers were collected and scrapped.

1995 brought the worst air quality in a decade, as well as--ironically--redesignation by the federal government as an attainment area for the ozone standard, based on measurements for the preceding three years. This attainment status for ozone was accordingly revoked in 1998--ironically again--just one year after the Bay Area experienced its cleanest summer on record.

During this time, the national ozone standard itself became a shifting target, as EPA promulgated a new ozone standard, based on a longer, more health-protective eight-hour averaging period. However, this new standard encountered legal challenges, and was held up for several years until the Supreme Court finally decided in the EPA's favor--with the end result that both national standards for ozone would remain in force well past the turn of the century.

The Air District's Model Wood Smoke Ordinance was approved by the Board in 1998, providing cities and counties with guidance in regulating new installations of woodstoves and fireplaces.

In 1999, the Air District's Ozone Attainment Plan was adopted, as required by EPA after the Bay Area's loss of attainment status for ozone. However, for the first time in 1998 the federal government designated the Bay Area in attainment of the carbon monoxide standard, a designation the Air District has continued to preserve.

During this period, the Air District began issuing Major Facility Review permits under the federal Title V Program, to almost 100 facilities whose emissions levels place them under the program purview.

In 2000, the Air District participated in the ambitious Central California Ozone Study, designed to measure and analyze the impact of ozone transport patterns over a large portion of California.

And in 1999, the Air District's Board of Directors adopted a set of Guidelines for Environmental Justice, setting the stage for renewed emphasis on community issues and the local impacts of toxic and particulate pollution in the years to come.

1995

The Bay Area is redesignated as an attainment area for the national one-hour ozone standard.

The Bay Area experiences its worst air quality in a decade, with 11 exceedances of the national ozone standard, and 28 exceedances of the state ozone standard.

1996

"Cleaner-burning" gasoline is introduced in California, as required by ARB. This leads to a 15 percent (40 tons per day) reduction in smog-forming emissions of VOCs. Benzene levels drop more than 50 percent.

The Bay Area Clean Air Partnership (BAYCAP) is formed, combining the resources of the Bay Area Council, the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group, and the Air District. Its mission is to work collaboratively to improve air quality through voluntary efforts.

The Air District unveils its Spare the Air website, providing electronic air quality forecasts to the public, among other services.

The Air District initiates its Vehicle Buyback Program to buy and scrap older model automobiles, which emit a disproportionate amount of pollution in the Bay Area. The program begins with 1975 as the cut-off year, and offers $500 a vehicle.

A revised Smog Check II program is implemented in California, requiring most vehicles to be more extensively tested and repaired, if necessary, at licensed smog check stations.

1997

The EPA announces new, more stringent national ambient air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter. The new ozone standard is set for average concentration over an eight-hour period, and particulate standards are set for the new category of PM2.5, or particulate matter 2.5 microns in size and smaller.

The Air District's Lawn Mower Buyback Program kicks off in partnership with PG&E and Ryobi Outdoor Products. Rebates of $75 are offered for cordless electric mulching mowers in exchange for gas-powered mowers, which are scrapped.

The BAAQMD web site is launched at www.baaqmd.gov.

The 1997 Clean Air Plan is adopted for the Bay Area.

The summer of 1997 is the cleanest to date since the Air District began monitoring in 1962. No exceedances of the federal one-hour standard are recorded, and only eight exceedances of the state standard are measured.

1998

The Air District, in cooperation with several local air districts sponsors the Great Stove Changeout Program, offering rebates to residents who turn in their old stoves and fireplace inserts for a new, cleaner-burning model.

The EPA redesignates the Bay Area to nonattainment for the federal one-hour ozone standard, as a result of excesses that occurred in 1995 and 1996.

The EPA officially designates the Bay Area in attainment of the federal carbon monoxide standard. While federal CO exceedances were once common, with 66 taking place in 1976, none have occurred since 1992.

The City and County of San Francisco adopts the Bay Area's first comprehensive ban on the use of polluting garden and utility equipment on Spare the Air days.

The Model Wood Smoke Ordinance is approved by the Air District's Board of Directors. This ordinance is based on one passed in Petaluma in 1992, and regulates installation of woodburning appliances in homes in order to reduce particulate matter (PM) emissions.

1999

The Air District begins monitoring PM2.5 at several monitoring stations in the Bay Area.

The Board of Directors adopts the Air District's Guiding Principles of Environmental Justice, which specifies that no segment of the population in the Bay Area should bear disproportionately high health effects of air pollution.

The San Francisco Bay Area Ozone Attainment Plan, designed to bring the Bay Area back into compliance with federal ozone standards, is approved and sent to EPA.

The Air District begins taking applications for grants under the Carl Moyer Program, established by AB 1571. The funding is aimed at projects that reduce diesel PM, including the purchase of new cleaner diesel equipment, the retrofitting of older diesel engines with emission control devices, or the replacement of older diesel engines with new lower emission ones.

The Air District amends Regulation 2, Rule 6, which implemented the federal Title V program, to include a series of updates and refinements to the Major Facility Review permitting program.

2000

The Central California Ozone Study (CCOS) begins. The Air District participates with several other air agencies in this study designed to enhance understanding of the formation and complex transport patterns of ozone in northern and central California.

The California Air Resources Board passes new enhanced Vapor Recovery Amendments to refine controls on evaporation and spillage in gasoline transfer operations, from the delivery truck to the storage tank and from the pump to the automobile gas tank.

The state of California passes legislation allowing electric vehicle drivers to use carpool lanes.

The Air District joins with other Bay Area agencies and business, environmental, and social equity groups to promote "smart growth" and create more livable communities. The first of an ongoing series of public Smart Growth Workshops is held.