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AIR QUALITY ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2006
The Division of Air Quality worked with the state Environmental Management Commission to develop new rules for controlling mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants. DAQ and the commission held a series of public hearings across the state to get public input, receiving more 3,000 comments through the hearings, letters and e-mails. In November, the EMC adopted a mercury rule that will achieve more reductions on a faster timetable than the federal rule.
DAQ and DENR established the Climate Action Plan Advisory Group to recommend specific measures for reducing and mitigating greenhouses gas emissions in North Carolina, as well as analyzing the costs and economic benefits. CAPAG held meetings in February, May, July and October, supplemented by numerous calls and meetings of its five technical workgroups. The group plans to submit its recommendations to the legislature and the EMC in 2007. DAQ and DENR worked closely with the new Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change, which is dealing with broader issues, such as whether North Carolina should set a cap or goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. DAQ staff made presentations to the legislative panel and served as liaisons between the commission and CAPAG. In October, DAQ's toxics branch was among several DENR teams that responded to the fire and explosion at the EQ Services hazardous waste facility in Apex. DAQ staff monitored the air for toxic pollutants during and after the fire, and helped design and carry out a study on the deposition of pollutants on nearby homes and businesses. The DAQ studies found no evidence of significant, long-term health or environmental threats from air pollutants emitted by the fire. DAQ, in cooperation with the Division of Motor Vehicles, completed the four-year expansion of the emissions inspection program for cars and light-duty trucks. The expansion concluded in January with the addition of five more counties to the program, bringing the total to 48 counties statewide. In support of the expansion, DAQ:
- Helped organize car care clinics to familiarize residents with emissions testing in new counties being added to the program.
- Produced radio, TV and newspaper ads and distributed brochures to help educate the public about emissions testing and the role of motor vehicles in causing air quality problems.
DAQ worked with the Utilities Commission to submit the annual progress report on the Clean Smokestacks Act in June. The act requires North Carolina's coal-fired power plants to reduce their ozone, haze and particle-forming emissions by three-fourths by 2013. DAQ continued its air quality forecasting program, which includes six metro areas across the state: Asheville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Hickory, the Triangle and Rocky Mount. DAQ also worked closely with Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department, which handles air forecasts for the Triad metro area. Forecasts are issued for ozone in all seven areas from May through September, and for particle pollution year-round in the Charlotte, Hickory and Triad areas. In March, DAQ and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources awarded $799,511 in grants for projects to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles. This year's grants, which included 16 projects from 14 counties, focused on projects for retrofitting school buses with controls to curb diesel emissions and building facilities for producing or distributing biodiesel fuel. DENR awarded the grants through the Mobile Source Emissions Reduction Grants program, which is administered by DAQ. DAQ is conducting air quality modeling and developing plans for bringing areas into compliance with the federal ozone and particle pollution standards. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated 32 North Carolina counties as non-attainment areas for the 8-hour ozone standard and 3 counties non-attainment for the fine particle (PM 2.5) standard. DAQ preliminary modeling shows that most of the state should achieve compliance with both standards by 2009. The EPA approved air quality implementation plans (SIPs) for reducing ozone pollution that DAQ submitted in cooperation with Early Action Compacts in the Fayetteville, Hickory and Triad metro areas. DAQ continued its involvement in VISTAS, Visibility Improvement State and Tribal Association of the Southeast, a regional effort to reduce haze and improve visibility in pristine natural (Class I) areas. |
