Bay Area Air District Charts Groundbreaking Clean Air Plan, Proposes First Flare Rule Overhaul in 20 Years

The Bay Area Air District's Stationary Source Committee heard two landmark presentations April 8 that could reshape how the region regulates pollution — a new Clean Air Plan designed to target neighborhood-level health disparities for the first time, and proposed refinery flare rule amendments that drew immediate pushback from Chevron and the petroleum industry. Neither item required a vote, but both signal the district's most ambitious regulatory agenda in years.

• New Clean Air Plan moves beyond federal standards to address community-level pollution disparities, air toxics, and cumulative health impacts — with board action targeted by end of 2028

• Staff proposes sweeping refinery flare rule updates including annual emission limits, community notification requirements, and third-party audits — the first major changes since 2003–2005

• Chevron and WSPA push back hard, calling flare emissions just 0.5–1% of total refinery output and warning new rules would drive economic harm

• Communities for a Better Environment fires back, citing Richmond asthma rates nearly double the state average

• Director Hopkins calls for CARB partnership on ocean-going vessel emissions, which account for nearly 30% of regional NOx

• Committee directs staff to route flare rule concepts through Refinery Technical Working Group before public release

The basics: The Air District's current Clean Air Plan dates to 2017. Federal law requires periodic updates tied to meeting national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), but those plans have historically focused on regional pollution averages — not the block-by-block reality of who breathes the worst air.