Air Quality Complaints

The most common sources include smoke, paint-spraying operations, agricultural burning, dust, diesel fumes, construction equipment and odors, including those associated with oil and gas operations. See "How do I report other issues?" for information on smoking vehicles, agricultural operations odors and natural gas leaks.

Email: Complete form above and send to complaintsmailbox@vcapcd.org.

Phone: Call the 24-hour complaint line at 805-303-3700.

• Your name, phone number, email and address. Identifying information will be kept confidential. Anonymous reports are allowed but not recommended because they hinder investigations and prevent staff from updating complainants.
• Date and time the incident occurred, whether it is still happening and the time of any previous instances.
• Location name, address and type of operation.
• Nature of the problem — smoke, odor, dust, etc.

Response: A district inspector responds quickly, usually within 24 hours or on the following business day. The inspector contacts the reporting party to verify details and ask additional questions if contact information was provided.

Investigation: The inspector tries to resolve the complaint by calling the locations of possible sources. If the issue can't be resolved by phone, the inspector visits the site to try to confirm the complaint and locate the source by canvassing the suspected area. Confirmation requires that the inspector smell the odor or see the dust or smoke. Once the source is verified, the inspector conducts an inspection to determine the cause of the air quality problem.

Report: Regardless of whether the complaint is confirmed or it can't be confirmed because the odor, dust or smoke has disappeared, the inspector completes a report on the incident. The inspector provides the results of the investigation to the reporting party. The district retains records of all complaints investigated.

Public nuisance: If district regulations have been violated or a considerable number of people are endangered, inspectors can issue a Notice of Violation. A business can be fined each day it is in violation. In severe cases, the district could take the case to court or seek criminal prosecution.

Private nuisance: If district regulations have not been violated and only a few people are affected, those parties may need legal help to resolve the problem.

Smoking vehicles: Call the California Air Resources Board at 800-363-7664.

Agricultural operations odors and pesticide spraying: Call the Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner's Office at 805-388-4222. For information on recent and upcoming spraying locations, see the Spray Days Pesticide Map and Notification System.

Natural gas odors or leaks: Call SoCalGas at 800-427-2200.

Sewage or hazardous waste: Call Ventura County Environmental Health at 805-654-2813.

Aircraft (including contrails): Call Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 at 866-372-9378 or Federal Aviation Administration Western-Pacific Region at 424-405-7000.