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HomeHealth and Safety CodeDiv. 26Pt. 4Ch. 4.5§ 42503 Air Quality Protection Goals

§ 42503 Air Quality Protection Goals

Health and Safety Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 42503 Air Quality Protection Goals

Key Takeaways

  • •The law wants clean air for everyone as soon as possible.
  • •It protects people's health from bad air.
  • •It keeps special places like parks and monuments clean and nice.
  • •It makes sure new buildings and businesses don’t mess up the clean air.

Example

A factory wants to build a new smokestack in a town.

The law says the town must check if the smokestack will make the air dirty. If it does, they can’t build it unless they prove it won’t hurt people or nearby parks. The town must also let everyone give their opinion before deciding.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 42503 Air Quality Protection Goals

The purposes of this chapter are all of the following: (a)  To attain and maintain state and federal ambient air quality standards by the earliest practicable date. (b)  To protect public health and welfare from any actual or potential adverse effect which reasonably may be anticipated to occur from air pollution. (c)  To preserve, protect and enhance the air quality in national parks, national wilderness areas, national monuments, national seashores, and other areas of special national or regional natural, recreational, scenic, or historic value. (d)  To ensure that economic growth will occur in a manner consistent with the preservation of existing clean air resources. (e)  To ensure that emissions from any source in the state will not interfere with any portion of the applicable implementation plan to prevent significant deterioration of air quality for this or any other state. (f)  To ensure that any decision to permit increased air pollution in any area to which this chapter applies is made only after careful evaluation of all the consequences of that decision and after adequate procedural opportunities for informed public participation in the decisionmaking process. (Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 476, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2004.)

Last verified: January 24, 2026

Key Terms

pollutionqualityemissionhealthportpreservationimplementationdeterioration

Related Statutes

  • § 42502 Nonvehicular Emission Control Goals
  • § 42501 New Source Air Pollution Controls
  • § 40950 Sacramento Air Pollution Findings
  • § 42504 New Source Review Standards
  • § 38568 Incentive Program Emissions Tracking

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Health and Safety Code. Section 42503.
View Official Source