State and Local Air Agencies Gather in Raleigh for AAPCA 2025 Fall Business Meeting
Association introduces 2026 leadership slate
Keynote from Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner, Clint Woods
Topics covered Clean Air Act rules and actions and federal-state-local partnerships
October 10, 2025
Lexington, KY
The Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies (AAPCA) held the AAPCA 2025 Fall Business Meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina from September 24 to 26. The Association welcomed more than 120 participants from 28 state and local air agencies; multi-jurisdictional organizations; U.S. EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) and regional offices; and other Clean Air Act (CAA) stakeholders.
At the meeting, AAPCA’s Board of Directors, comprised of senior air officials from 21 state environmental agencies, elected 2026 Officers. The Association is pleased to announce the following 2026 Officers:
- President | Jim Boylan, Georgia Environmental Protection Division
- Vice President | Cory Chism, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- Secretary/Treasurer | Hether Krause, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
- Past President | Laura Crowder, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
“It is important to gather and engage key state, local, and federal air quality partners and subject matter experts as efforts to enhance air quality continue,” remarked AAPCA President Jim Boylan, Chief of the Georgia Air Protection Branch. “The complexity of today’s air quality challenges requires robust partnerships to ensure reasonable, effective, and efficient strategies for air quality protection.”
AAPCA was honored to welcome back Clint Woods, Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, and former Executive Director of AAPCA, to speak to the mission of state leadership to protect the environment and public health. The keynote highlighted state and local agencies’ longstanding role in achieving cleaner air and economic growth nationwide.
Aaron Szabo, Assistant Administrator of U.S. EPA OAR, provided featured remarks on the Administration’s priorities and current work being guided by Pillar 1: Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American and Pillar 3: Permitting Reform, Cooperative Federalism, and Cross-Agency Partnership of the Agency’s Powering the Great American Comeback Initiative. Attendees were especially interested in the new Office of State Air Partnerships (OSAP), which will focus on establishing and supporting the federal component of the CAA’s cooperative federalism framework for national air quality management.
The agenda included state, local, federal, and nongovernmental organization speakers presenting on a range of timely CAA topics, covering air quality standards and planning, CAA legal updates, and other technical updates. AAPCA’s 2025 Fall Business Meeting featured an in-depth session on What’s on the Horizon? Regional Haze Program Updates, with presentations from state, federal, and technical experts. Attendees discussed complex issues for CAA implementation, such as challenges associated with the regional haze program or how to modernize and streamline air quality data systems. The Association’s final designations for 2025 Best Practices in Air Pollution Control were also presented at the meeting.
Presentations that are available from AAPCA’s 2025 Fall Business Meeting are posted here.
AAPCA’s 2026 Spring Meeting will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. More information will be available on AAPCA’s website (www.cleanairact.org) this fall.
AAPCA Background
The Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies, or AAPCA, is a national, non-profit, consensus-driven organization focused on assisting state and local air quality agencies and personnel with implementation and technical issues associated with the federal Clean Air Act. Created in 2012, AAPCA represents 53 state and local air pollution control agencies, and senior officials from 21 state environmental agencies currently sit on the AAPCA Board of Directors. AAPCA is housed in Lexington, Kentucky as an affiliate of The Council of State Governments. More information about AAPCA can be found on the Association’s website: www.cleanairact.org.
Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies | 1776 Avenue of the States | Lexington, Kentucky 40511
www.cleanairact.org | @AAPCA_States | LinkedIn
Contact: Morgan Dickie, Executive Director (mdickie@csg.org / 859-244-8042)