![[logo] US EPA](../gif/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has proposed two complementary rules, Rule 2501 and Rule 2503, to implement and enforce a voluntary Air Quality Investment Program (AQIP). This voluntary program complements existing command and control regulatory programs by providing an alternative compliance option to those sources subject to SCAQMD source-specific rules and regulations. The AQIP is designed to achieve both quantitative and qualitative emission reductions or air quality benefits. At a minimum, the program guarantees a specific percentage of new emission reductions, in addition to directing new funds into the development of clean technologies. In return, regulated sources gain cost savings, paperwork reductions, and flexibility. The AQIP is designed to achieve greater environmental benefit than the current command and control regulations. In the past, sources facing compliance difficulties of either a financial or technical nature had to seek resolution through either rule exemption or variance procedures. Under Rules 2501 and 2503, sources can participate in the program and thereby achieve equivalent emission reductions that would otherwise be lost.