Colusa Fairgrounds Air Monitoring Station, Colusa, California

Colusa Fairgrounds is an air monitoring station located at the fairgrounds on Colusa Avenue in Colusa, California, United States. The station is part of the state-level air quality monitoring network managed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), which operates hundreds of stations across California to track criteria pollutants and support compliance with the US EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The station operates within California's extensive air monitoring framework, which includes both federal reference methods and equivalent methods for measuring pollutants such as ozone, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. While specific parameters measured at this site are not detailed, typical rural stations in the Central Valley focus on ozone and PM due to regional pollution patterns. As a rural monitoring site in Colusa County, this station helps characterize background air quality in California's Sacramento Valley, an area influenced by agricultural emissions, wildfires, and meteorological inversions. Data from this station supports CARB's air quality planning, health advisories, and compliance with the federal Clean Air Act, contributing to public health protection and environmental management.

Colusa County lies in California's Sacramento Valley, a region with significant agricultural activity and periodic wildfire smoke. Air monitoring stations like Colusa Fairgrounds are critical for tracking ozone and particulate matter, which are influenced by local emissions and transported pollutants. The station's siting at a fairground provides representative sampling of community-scale exposure, supporting CARB's network design for population protection and regulatory compliance.