Community
Investments
Community
Investments Office
In December 2024, the Bay Area Air District
established the Community Investments Office
(CIO) to develop and manage tailored programs
for funding streams generated by penalties
and other funds. The CIO will ensure that funds
from enforcement actions directly benefit
communities impacted by air pollution. This CIO
administers the Community Benefits Penalty
Funds Policy, and other funds from enforcement
actions to direct resources back into the
communities where violations occurred to
improve community health and air quality. Some
funding sources have specific, pre-determined
parameters while guidelines for others are in
the process of development. The program
governing the disposition of these funds will be
developed with input from the community.
Air District's Community
Benefits Penalty Funds
Policy & Other Funds
Overview
The Air District established the Community
Benefits Penalty Funds Policy to directly
support communities disproportionately
impacted by air pollution. When penalties are
assessed against entities violating air quality
regulations, this policy enables penalty funds to
be reinvested directly back to communities
through impactful projects. This policy sets up a
formula that automatically allocates 80% of the
funds to the Local Community Benefits Fund
and 20% to the Regional Community Benefits
Fund after meeting a pre-determined threshold
and split for specific penalty amounts. For more
details on the breakdown, see the Community
Benefits Penalty Funds Policy.
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Overview of Available Funds
AVAILABLE FUNDING SOURCE AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2024
Regional Community Benefits Fund 20,331,984
Local Community Benefits Fund 75,447,312
Other funds: Richmond Community Air Quality Fund1 20,000,000 Total Project Funds 115 ,779,297
9% Admin Funds 9,472,678
Total Project & Admin Funding 125 ,251,974
1 Funding availability is subject to initiation of projects.
What is the
Regional Community
Benefits Fund?
This fund is designated to:
- reduce air pollution or mitigate air pollution
impacts in overburdened communities
- improve health outcomes in communities
impacted by air pollution
What is the
Local Community
Benefits Fund?
This fund is designated to:
- reduce air pollution or mitigate air pollution
- improve health outcomes in the specific
community affected by the air quality
violations that led to the penalty
ORIGINATING COMMUNITY* PROJECT AMOUNT
Benicia 58,631,131
Berkeley 13,680
Martinez 1,462,091
Oakland 85,783
Pleasanton 58,367
Richmond 15,148,952
San Jose 19,950
South San Francisco 22,799
Suisun City 4,560
Total Funds 75,447 ,312
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Local Community
Benefits Fund as
December 31, 2024
*An originating community does not indicate that funds will be limited to a jurisdictional boundary. The geographic boundaries for distribution of funds will be determined based on
Board-approved criteria.
Community Spotlight:
Penalties to benefit Benicia and
overburdened communities around
the Bay Area
The Bay Area Air District and California Air
Resources Board fined Valero Refining Co.
nearly $82 million for air quality violations at its
refinery in Benicia. The Air District received
$80.8 million and based on the Community
Benefits Penalty Funds Policy, $58,631,131 are
designated for the Local Community Benefits
Fund to finance projects aimed at reducing air
pollution exposure, mitigating air pollution
impacts and improving public health in areas
surrounding the refinery. The remainder of the
penalty is designated for the Regional
Community Benefit Fund to support clean air
projects in overburdened communities and
to offset costs associated with fund
administration and investigation and
prosecution of future cases.
The CIO will be developing a plan to
distribute these funds to communities.
Sign up on our website to stay informed.
MORE DETAILS ON COMMUNITY INVESTMENTS:
baaqmd.gov/community-investments
CONTACT US:
[email protected]
Community
Benefits Penalty
Fund Policy
Definitions:
Penalty Package: Civil penalties collected
through an individual settlement agreement or
court judgment that requires payment from a
particular regulated entity. A package can
address more than one violation but must be
with an individual entity.
Fiscal Year Penalty Budget Assumption:
The amount of assumed general fund revenue
derived from penalties in a fiscal year’s
adopted budget.
Fiscal Year Penalty Budget Cap: The amount
needed to meet the Fiscal Year Penalty Budget
Assumption for the current fiscal year, plus any
shortfalls from the previous two years. A
shortfall occurs when actual penalties collected
in a fiscal year are less than the Fiscal Year
Budget Assumption for that fiscal year. Once
the Fiscal Year Penalty Budget Cap has been
met, any additional penalties collected will be
designated for regional community benefits.
Regional Community Benefits Fund: A fund
that the Board of Directors has designated to
reduce air pollution or mitigate the impacts of
air pollution in overburdened communities or
aimed at improving health outcomes in
communities impacted by air pollution in the
Bay Area.
Local Community Benefits Fund: Funds that
the Board of Directors has designated to
reduce air pollution or mitigate the impacts of
air pollution or aimed at improving health
outcomes in the particular community that
was affected by the air quality violations
leading to the Penalty Package in which the
funds were collected.
Method of
Allocating Funds:
Beginning in the fiscal year ending June 30,
2024, and retroactive to the beginning of that
fiscal year, net penalty funds collected2 shall
be allocated according to the method below.
First $100,000: Funds will be placed in the
general fund until the Fiscal Year Penalty
Budget Cap for that year is met. Once the
Fiscal Year Penalty Budget Cap for that year
is met, the funds from these settlements
shall be placed in the Regional Community
Benefits fund.
Amounts greater than $100,000 and less
than or equal to $1,000,000: Fifty percent
(50%) of the funds shall be placed in a Local
Community Benefits Fund associated with
the community impacted by the violations
leading to the Penalty Package. Fifty percent
(50%) shall be placed in the general fund or
the Regional Community Benefits Fund
depending on whether the Fiscal Year
Penalty Budget Cap has been met.
Amounts exceeding $1,000,000: Eighty
percent (80%) of the funds shall be placed in a
Local Community Benefits Fund associated with
the community impacted by the violations
leading to the Penalty Package. Twenty percent
(20%) shall be placed in the general fund or the
Regional Community Benefits Fund depending
on whether the Fiscal Year Penalty Budget Cap
has been met.
Annual Report:
In May of each year, staff will provide the
Community Advisory Council and the Board of
Directors a review of the results of this policy for
the current fiscal year.
The infographic below shows the Penalty
Allocation Breakdown:
First
$100K
Next
$100K–$1M
Over $1M
100%
50%
50%
20%
80%
District
Budget
Regional
Community
Benefits Fund
Local
Community
Benefits Fund
BUDGET CAP OVER BUDGET CAP
PENALTY ALLOCATION BREAKDOWN
2Net penalty funds collected are all penalties obtained by the Air District through settlements or court judgments, net of any external costs associated with obtaining the penalty, such as litigation costs, costs of expert witnesses or consultant, or outside attorney fees, that are not otherwise recovered.