Merced, CA

Moderate Risk (33/100)

Environmental data for Merced in California

Merced, CA is tracked across three EPA datasets covering 16 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 33/100 (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 1.5M 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 52 and a peak AQI of 151 in 2024, with 46% 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
16
Water Systems
0
Superfund Sites
0
Total Releases
1.5M 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 168 (46%) 163 34 151
2023 171 (47%) 179 15 129
2022 140 (38%) 212 13 143
2021 155 (42%) 177 31 166
2020 131 (36%) 203 17 194
2024 Good Air Quality: 46% of days
Unhealthy days: 35
Median AQI: 52

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 (16)

# Facility Total Releases
1 Foster Farms Livingston Complex 599.5K lbs
2 Saputo Cheese USA Inc 329.4K lbs
3 Fineline Industries LLC 278.7K lbs
4 California Dairies Inc Los Banos 97.7K lbs
5 Hilmar Cheese Co 49.4K lbs
6 Greif Packaging LLC 45.9K lbs
7 Dole Packaged Foods LLC 41.1K lbs
8 E & J Gallo Winery 40.6K lbs
9 Qg Printing II LLC 30.4K lbs
10 Mb Sports 15.8K lbs
11 Atwater Federal Prison 4.3K lbs
12 Ingomar Packing 3.3K lbs
13 O'Keeffe 6 lbs
14 Santa Fe Materials Winton Plant 0 lbs
15 Gallo Cheese Plant 0 lbs
16 Foster Farms Collier Complex 0 lbs

Cities in Merced (8)

Los Banos
Pop: —
2 facilities · 3 water
Atwater
Pop: —
4 facilities · 1 water
Delhi
Pop: —
1 facilities · 1 water
Gustine
Pop: —
1 facilities · 2 water
Hilmar
Pop: —
1 facilities · 1 water
Livingston
Pop: —
2 facilities · 1 water
Merced
Pop: —
4 facilities · 4 water
Winton
Pop: —
1 facilities · 1 water

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the environmental risk level in Merced, California?
Merced, CA has an environmental risk score of 33/100 (Moderate Risk), based on 16 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 Merced?
No Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) sites are currently registered in Merced, CA in the EPA database.
How many toxic release facilities are in Merced?
Merced, CA has 16 TRI-reporting facilities on record with the EPA Toxic Release Inventory, with a combined total of 1.5M lbs in reported toxic releases. TRI facilities self-report annual chemical release data to the EPA.
What is the air quality in Merced?
In 2024, Merced, CA recorded a median AQI of 52 and a peak AQI of 151. 46% 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 Merced?
No EPA-regulated water systems are currently recorded for Merced, CA in the SDWIS database.
What environmental agencies cover Merced?
Environmental compliance in Merced, 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