Kern, CA

Moderate Risk (55/100)

Environmental data for Kern in California

Kern, CA is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 41 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) facilityies, 0 Safe Drinking Water Act systems, and 0 Superfund National Priorities List sites. Together these generate an environmental burden score of 55/100 (Moderate Risk), calibrated against national distributions for facility density, chemical release volume, Superfund concentration, and water-system health violations.

Industrial disclosures inside the county total 55.7M lbs of reported toxic releases under EPCRA Section 313, while 0 water systems carry an active health-based violation in the SDWIS record. EPA Air Quality System monitors logged a median AQI of 72 and a peak AQI of 177 in 2024, with 21% of observed days rated "Good" (0–50).

All figures below draw directly from federal EPA records, TRI self-reported emissions, SDWIS compliance history, NPL Hazard Ranking System scores, and AQS daily AQI summaries, and are not adjusted, weighted, or forecast. A past violation or elevated score does not itself indicate current unsafe conditions; it documents the regulatory and disclosure history publicly filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the most recent reporting cycle.

TRI Facilities
41
Water Systems
0
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
55.7M lbs

Air Quality History (2020–2024)

EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) data showing how many days per year fall into each air quality category.

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy (SG) Max AQI
2024 76 (21%) 196 73 177
2023 85 (23%) 210 58 174
2022 47 (13%) 196 109 289
2021 35 (10%) 202 97 314
2020 56 (15%) 180 98 267
2024 Good Air Quality: 21% of days
Unhealthy days: 94
Median AQI: 72

Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County AQI categories: Good (0-50), Moderate (51-100), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (101-150), Unhealthy (151-200), Very Unhealthy (201-300), Hazardous (301+)

For detailed air quality monitoring data, pollutant breakdowns, and metro-level AQI trends, see Air Quality in California on PlainAirData.

TRI Facilities (41)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Clean Harbors Buttonwillow LLC 50.4M lbs
2 Wm Bolthouse Farms Inc 3.2M lbs
3 Frito Lay Inc. 523.8K lbs
4 Containment Solutions Inc 332.2K lbs
5 US Dod Usaf Edwards Afb Ca 259.9K lbs
6 Golden Queen Mining Co LLC 242.8K lbs
7 Prc-Desoto International Inc. 168.2K lbs
8 National Cement Co of California Inc 118.0K lbs
9 Baker Petrolite 109.3K lbs
10 Kern Energy 43.4K lbs
11 Tehachapi Cement LLC 35.0K lbs
12 Bakersfield Renewable Fuels LLC - Areas 1 & 2 34.8K lbs
13 Calportland Co Mojave Plant 31.5K lbs
14 Ennis-Flint Bakersfield 26.3K lbs
15 Nusil Technology LLC 20.3K lbs
16 Innovative Coating Technology Inc 20.1K lbs
17 Elk Co of Texas LLC 18.8K lbs
18 U.S. Dod Naws China Lake 18.8K lbs
19 San Joaquin Refining Co Inc 15.2K lbs
20 Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream 13.1K lbs
21 Amber Chemical Inc. 13.1K lbs
22 Building Materials Manufacturing LLC 10.5K lbs
23 Trical Inc. 7.6K lbs
24 Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions - Bakersfield 6.6K lbs
25 Championx-Bakersfield 3.5K lbs
26 Kw Plastics of California 3.4K lbs
27 Dorf Ketal Energy Services LLC - Bakersfield Site 3.0K lbs
28 Hoover Treated Wood Products Inc. 2.5K lbs
29 J.g. Boswell Co - Kern Tomato 2.5K lbs
30 Argo Chemical Inc 804 lbs
31 Asphalt Terminals LLC - Bakersfield 350 lbs
32 Taft Manufacturing LLC 257 lbs
33 Bakersfield Renewable Fuels LLC - Area 3 58 lbs
34 Kemira Water Solutions Inc 53 lbs
35 Bakersfield Renewable Fuels LLC - Terminal 49 lbs
36 Asphalt Terminals LLC - Mojave 28 lbs
37 Tricor Refining LLC 1 lbs
38 Holliday Rock Co - Bakersfield 0 lbs
39 Certis USA 0 lbs
40 Holliday Rock - Bakersfield #2 0 lbs
41 Pennzoil-Quaker State Co (dba Sopus Products) 0 lbs

Cities in Kern (10)

Bakersfield
Pop: —
23 facilities · 50 water
Buttonwillow
Pop: —
2 facilities · 2 water
Lebec
Pop: —
1 facilities · 3 water
Shafter
Pop: —
2 facilities · 4 water
Taft
Pop: —
1 facilities · 1 water
Wasco
Pop: —
1 facilities · 3 water
Mojave
Pop: —
7 facilities · 2 water
Edwards
Pop: —
1 facilities · 0 water
China Lake
Pop: —
1 facilities · 1 water
Tehachapi
Pop: —
2 facilities · 12 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Kern, California?
Kern, CA has an environmental risk score of 55/100 (Moderate Risk), based on 41 TRI facilities, 0 Superfund sites, and 0 water systems on record. No water systems have current health-based violations. Source: EPA TRI, SDWIS, and Superfund NPL.
Are there Superfund sites in Kern?
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Kern, CA in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Kern?
Kern, CA has 41 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 55.7M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Kern?
In 2024, Kern, CA recorded a median AQI of 72 and a peak AQI of 177. 21% of monitored days had "Good" air quality (AQI 0–50). Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by County.
Is the drinking water safe in Kern?
No EPA-regulated water systems are currently recorded for Kern, CA in the SDWIS database.
What environmental agencies cover Kern?
Environmental compliance in Kern, California is overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the federal level and the California state environmental agency. Facilities report to the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, water systems are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and contaminated sites are managed under the Superfund program. Contact your state environmental agency for local concerns.

What does this county environmental profile show?

This county environmental profile rolls up EPA Toxics Release Inventory facility reports, Safe Drinking Water Information System public-water-system filings, and Superfund National Priorities List sites for the county boundary defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Facility counts reflect facilities with a reporting address inside the county, not where downstream environmental effects may be observed. Population figures are from the most recent Census ACS 5-year estimate. The county detail page is updated whenever the upstream EPA programs publish revised data; see the methodology page for the documented ingest cadence and the editorial choices governing how aggregations are computed.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainEnviro Editorial