AB 617 Annual Reporting and Progress Tracking

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AB 617 requires air districts to prepare an annual report summarizing the results and actions for each community emissions reduction program (CERP).  CARB staff also prepares an update for the CARB Governing Board on AB 617 progress each year.

The minimum annual reporting requirements are outlined in the Blueprint for CARB statewide strategies and air district strategies. To support these reporting efforts, CARB staff have developed a methodology for collecting and quantifying information with air districts on statewide strategy progress and air district strategy progress in each of the selected AB 617 CERP communities. CARB staff uses the information gathered from the annual reporting process to update our Governing Board on AB 617 progress each year and to provide public transparency. 

This page is under development. Please check back for further updates.

Annual Reporting Data Files

CARB staff have developed a template for exchanging progress tracking data with air districts and support implementation of the annual reporting methodology. CARB has developed a web-based tool (the CommunityHub) to provide access to annual reporting data and other information on CERPs.

Community Monitoring

CARB will be launching a new air quality viewer called AQview, which will focus on displaying air quality data collected in AB 617 communities. While community data are the focus for AQview, AQview will provide air quality data from many existing sources to create a single, central hub for viewing the current air quality across the state. To support the annual reporting process, OCAP provides quarterly updates on community monitoring programs. This information is restricted to ‘meta’ data on the monitors, which include the location of monitors, types of pollutant sensors, frequency of sampling, status of monitor, and availability of data. It does not include raw or processed sensor outputs, or other air quality information. Meta data from monitors are collected by the AQview team from the local air district, public private partnerships, and existing state and federal sources. Data on the community hub is updated quarterly with data currently available through the AQview portal.

Community Emissions Reduction Strategies and Actions

After being selected, communities begin a process of developing Community Emissions Reduction Plans with support from the local Air District and CARB staff.  The CERP development process focuses on identifying strategies to reduce exposure from sources of concern identified by the community. Community Steering Committee meetings provide a forum for discussion of sources of concern and prioritization of strategies identified by the local community.  CERP documents provide a narrative background on the community and the sources of pollution impacting residents, describes these strategies, and articulates a range of actions for responsible agencies.  For the annual reporting process, community identified strategies are reviewed and compiled into a database of CERP strategies statewide. Access to this database of community strategies and actions is provided through the OCAP Community hub. A simple text search tool allows for users to search by keywords or concepts through the text of the CERP strategy and action documentation.

Funding and Incentives

Budget bills passed in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 have provided funds, “to support local air districts’ implementation of Chapter 136 of the Statutes of 2017.” [SB 83 (2017), SB 856 (2018), AB 74 (2019), SB 74 (2020)]. The funding has enabled actions such as: establishing steering committees, developing and implementing emissions reduction programs, including staffing, outreach, strategies and enforcement, as well as deploying air monitoring, reporting emissions, and implementing new requirements regarding best available retrofit control technologies. Incentive funds provided by the AB 617 program represent a subset of the State's incentive investments in AB 617 communities.

To support the annual reporting process for AB 617, CARB staff compile incentive reporting data across State programs and provide an estimate of incentive project investments in each selected AB 617 community.  For all incentive programs, location information can be defined as either point based, meaning it has a specific location, or area based, meaning it impacts a wider area. Most projects are assigned a specific location based on the applicant address or the latitude and longitude of the equipment domicile.  Examples of area based projects include transit improvements or rebate incentives where no specific owner address is provided.  

  • Projects Identified by Single Location - Most projects included in AB 617 annual reporting are shown at a single location based on data provided by administering agencies.  These projects are assigned to the individual community where the project is located. The latitude and longitude of the project are obtained based on the address provided, and the community boundary is used to filter projects.
  • Some Projects Span Multiple Counties and Legislative Districts - Some projects are not implemented at a single location, and therefore could be attributed to multiple areas or communities.  For projects that physically cross the community boundary (e.g., transit projects), the project funding and other benefits are weighted based on the project area and overlap with the community boundary. For area projects, incentive funding data was intersected with the community boundaries to determine whether the project was benefiting the community. Projects are marked for inclusion in a community if more than 50% of the project area is within the community. If the project is considered to benefit the community, the entire project funding and emissions reductions are attributed to the AB 617 community.

Statewide Regulatory Programs

During recent years, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has adopted multiple plans and measures that will lead to development and adoption of a number of statewide regulatory measures to reduce emissions and exposure from a variety of sources. Assembly Bill 617 requires new, community-focused actions that utilize statewide and regional strategies to reduce high cumulative exposure in California’s disadvantaged communities. Many of these strategies identified by the community steering committees include CARB’s upcoming regulatory measures. 

As part of the annual reporting process, CARB provides an update on statewide regulatory actions included in community emissions reduction programs to achieve targets set forth by community steering committees. Data collected on progress tracking include regulatory process milestones (e.g. CARB Board and OAL approval), public documents released, events and other outreach activities.

Community emissions reduction programs include a diverse portfolio of strategies to reduce cumulative exposure burden.CARB continues to develop and implement new measures to support reducing exposure to pollution, particularly in disadvantage communities and communities identified through AB 617.  CARB provides this data to air districts to support the annual reporting process.

Enforcement Activities

CARB Enforcement division provides data on inspections, outreach events, and complaints received from AB 617 communities. In addition, CARB Enforcement staff support communities through specific enforcement related strategies that may involve coordinating public events, providing signage, or activities to support enhanced enforcement. CARB Enforcement staff provide data on inspections, compliance rates, complaints, and outreach to support the AB 617 annual reporting process. In addition, CARB has developed the Enforcement Data Visualization Tool to provide access to the most up-to-date information on inspection activities.