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Legal Enforcement Policy
Learn about the Office of General Counsel’s new Legal Enforcement Policy
Office of the General Counsel’s New Legal Enforcement Policy
The Air District’s Office of General Counsel is developing a new Policy on Legal Action to Enforce Violations of Air District Regulations
(Legal Enforcement Policy). The Legal Enforcement Policy will publicly document how the Air District takes legal action to enforce its regulations to further the agency’s mission of protecting public health and reducing historical and current environmental inequities. The proposed Legal Enforcement Policy implements several important Air District commitments, including Strategy 1.6 (New Enforcement Policy) in the Air District’s 2024-2029 Strategic Plan and Actions FR 3.6 and 3.8 in the Path to Clean Air Community Emissions Reduction Plan. The Office of General Counsel is publishing an initial draft of the Policy and is seeking input on it from interested members of the public.
This initial draft was developed in consultation with a small working group consisting of members of the Air District’s Community Advisory Council and four AB 617 Community Steering Committees. This collaboration brought important community perspectives into the initial drafting process. The Air District is now seeking broader community and public input on the draft policy before finalizing it. Information on public comment opportunities is provided at the bottom of this page.
The Draft Legal Enforcement Policy: The draft Legal Enforcement Policy provides that the Office of General Counsel will develop and implement legal strategies in enforcement cases guided by the following principles:
- Provide transparency into the legal enforcement process, without undermining the confidentiality of ongoing cases;
- Use available legal authorities effectively to hold violators accountable and protect public health, especially in the most vulnerable communities;
- Pursue effective and tailored enforcement outcomes to deter future violations and to reduce and reverse the harms resulting from a legacy of inequitable public and private development decisions; and
- Use litigation tools and resources strategically where they can have the greatest impact on changing behavior in overburdened communities saddled with widespread non-compliance.
The goal of the Legal Enforcement Policy is to achieve enforcement outcomes that hold violators accountable and make clear that air quality violations will not be tolerated in any community in the Bay Area. Success will be measured through an annual reporting mechanism, which will provide a feedback loop to track progress and improvement over time, with accountability to the Board of Directors and to the communities in which air quality violations occur.
In addition to the full draft Legal Enforcement Policy document, the Office of General Counsel has also prepared a short summary highlighting the main points addressed in the draft Policy.
Opportunities To Learn More About the Proposed Policy and Provide Feedback: The Air District invites interested members of the public to review the draft Policy and provide comments on how it can be improved. Written comments may be submitted by email to Legal_Staff@baaqmd.gov, or in hard copy by mailing or delivering them to the Office of the General Counsel, 375 Beale Street, San Francisco, CA, 94105. Comments must be received by November 30, 2026.
The Air District will also hold a public workshop during the comment period to present the draft Legal Enforcement Policy and discuss it with interested members of the public. The hybrid public workshop meeting will be held on November 16, 2026, from 6:00-7:30 pm in the Yerba Buena Room on the first floor of the Bay Area Metro Center, located at 375 Beale Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Members of the public can also participate virtually via the Air District’s website at www.baaqmd.gov.
All interested members of the public are encouraged to attend the public workshop to learn more about the draft Legal Enforcement Policy and provide comments.
Last Updated: 10/14/2026