Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District

SMAQMD Authority to Construct / Permit to Operate (Spray Booths)

An auto-repair or auto-body shop operating a spray booth for automotive refinishing needs a Permit to Operate from the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, a regional air-quality regulator organized as a special district coextensive with Sacramento County rather than a department of county government itself — it is the applicable air-district regulator regardless of whether the shop sits in an incorporated city or the unincorporated area, since SMAQMD's jurisdiction tracks the county boundary rather than the county-government-scope patterns that apply to the County's own business licenses and EMD programs. California air districts generally require this registration before a spray booth begins operating. SMAQMD Rule 301, Schedule 1 sets the fee based on the horsepower of the exhaust fan serving the booth, published in the District's own annually adopted fee schedule; this is the confirmed mechanism, distinct from Sacramento County's own building, zoning, fire and CUPA fees, which an auto-repair shop pays separately to the County and to Metro Fire (or its own local fire department) for the same premises.