About the Air Resources Program

The Office of Air Resources (OAR) is responsible for the preservation, protection and improvement of air quality in Rhode Island. This is accomplished, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, by regulating the emission of air pollutants from stationary and mobile emission sources.

The purpose of the Air Resources program is to carry out the policy of the State as declared in Rhode Island General Law § 23-23-2, that is:
“…to preserve, protect, and improve the air resources of the state to promote the public health, welfare, and safety, to prevent injury or detriment to human, plant, and animal life, physical property and other resources, and to foster the comfort and convenience of the state's inhabitants.”

The major activities of the Office of Air Resources include the following:

• Inspect regulated sources of air pollution to ensure they comply with state and federal air pollution control regulations.
• Evaluate applications for new and modified sources of air pollution.
• Implement an operating permit program in order to provide a mechanism by which all of the requirementsapplicable to major air pollution sources are clearly identified in a single document.
• Identify sources of air toxics emissions that may have public health impacts and require those sources to reduce impacts to acceptable levels.
• Assure the State's motor vehicle inspection/maintenance program identifies high emitting vehicles and require them to be repaired.
• Develop and carry out the State Implementation Plan (SIP) to assure attainment and maintenance of National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
• Supportand direct the Department of Health Air Pollution Laboratory's operationof the statewide air quality monitoring network.
• Predictair quality for the following day and alert the public of elevated ozoneand particulate matter concentrations.
• Inventory air pollutant emissions by collecting data from approximately 600 stationary sources in the State.
• Implement and oversee Rhode Island'srole in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
• Work cooperatively and coordinate withother state agencies, including the Department of Transportation, theOffice of Energy Resources, the Division of Motor Vehicle and the Divisionof Statewide Planning, to address air quality issues