RECLAIM : California's guarantee for cleaner air

California's south coast air basin--the Los Angeles area--suffers the worst air pollution in the US, even after a history of extraordinary actions taken to reduce pollution. Existing regulations are tough and demanding, but must be changed to achieve federal clean air health standards by 2010. The Southern California business community and public are aggressively pursuing use of market incentives to lower the cost of achieving cleaner air. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) is developing an alternative market-based regulatory approach called the Regional Clean Air Incentives Market (RECLAIM) program. RECLAIM has the potential to clean up air more effectively than traditional regulations by harnessing the power of the marketplace. Compared to the existing Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP), RECLAIM is designed to ensure that the program achieves equivalent emission reductions, an equal or greater level of enforcement, lower implementation costs, fewer job impacts and no adverse public health impacts.