California Air Resources Board

Click here to access the PDF version of this Community Engagement plan.

7/28/2025

This community engagement effort supports the development of the Reducing Emissions from Operational Practices of Commercial Aircraft regulation, which includes strategies such as transitioning to zero-emission ground support equipment, requiring aircraft plug-in at gates, and reducing emissions from aircraft taxiing, takeoff, and landing. For more information about CARB’s regulatory development concepts to reduce emissions from aviation, click here.

Expected impact from the engagement: CARB staff strives for community engagement to foster trust and transparency, and to help build public understanding of the need for emissions reductions. At the same time, input from community members, airport workers, and local organizations can help inform and strengthen the overall regulatory design. Their insights can guide the development of responsive regulations that address the most pressing concerns.

Overall engagement goals/objectives: to build awareness, gather local insights, and ensure community concerns, technical feasibility, and equity considerations are thoroughly considered in the rulemaking process.

Specific goals:

Goal 1: Provide comprehensive information to stakeholders on the planned upcoming rulemaking and related context.
• Present background on current aviation emissions.
• Present information on existing technologies and the planned regulatory approach.
• Present measured pollutants concentration levels on airport airfield and in surrounding communities, if and when they become available.
• Present how this regulation fits into CARB’s broader efforts, including both air quality and climate programs.
• Present the timeline, scope, and potential benefits and costs associated with any potential future proposed regulations.

Goal 2: Seek specific feedback on key regulatory provisions with an emphasis on issues that are most relevant to each stakeholder group.
• Understand how stakeholders prioritize aviation emissions compared to other pollution sources.
• Identify stakeholders’ specific concerns — such as noise, air pollution, or lead emissions, and gather as much detail as possible to inform regulatory development.

Goal 3: Expand engagement to include historically marginalized groups, particularly residents living in communities located near emission sources, i.e., airports.
• Promote a better understanding and acceptance of the draft regulatory concepts by those most impacted.

Engagement Scale and Decisionmakers

We are planning a two-year engagement process starting from August 2025 to support the development of the regulation, which is targeted for first Board hearing around 2027.

CARB staff plans to include the following detailed engagement opportunities:
• Conduct two (2) Environmental Justice (EJ)-focused workshops with EJ organizations as well as residents who live near airports to inform the rulemaking plans and current technologies. Staff will begin early outreach with EJ organizations before scheduling these workshops.
• Leverage existing community meetings and AB 617 meetings, such as the one hosted by CARB’s Mobile Source Control Division (MSCD) Link here, conduct presentations to inform the community about our aviation regulations in those meetings.
• Partner with EJ organizations on efforts related to reducing airport emission impacts on EJ communities.
• Participate in community engagement meetings under the CARB contract with University of California Los Angeles (contract number: 24RD014 PI: Suzanne Paulson).

Examples of Engagement and Outreach