The South Coast Air District (AQMD) is the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality in the South Coast Air Basin (large parts of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties). The South Coast AQMD is responsible for regulating stationary sources of air emissions, including, for instance, refineries and secondary lead smelters.

As noted above, South Coast AQMD is responsible for regulating stationary sources of pollution, as opposed to mobile sources, like trucks, ships, and trains. An Indirect Source Rule allows AQMD to address the significant amounts of air emissions that result from mobile sources. For instance, AQMD cannot regulate trucks but the agency can regulate warehouses as the indirect source of truck emissions.

Secondary lead smelters are facilities that smelt and refine lead-acid batteries. The process of secondary lead smelting results in the release of emissions that are harmful to people and the environment. For more information about secondary lead smelting and the last secondary lead smelter in California, see Earthjustice’s report “Quemetco’s Lead Legacy: A Cycle of Injustice and Contamination in Southern California.”