4th Governors' Air Summit in Charlotte

RALEIGH --- Governors and environmental officials from across the Southeast will meet in Charlotte on Friday for the 4th Governor's Summit on Air Quality.

The summit will be held at the Hilton Charlotte University Place, 8629 J.M. Keynes Drive, Charlotte, NC 28262. Registration information and other details are available at the N.C. Division of Air Quality's Web site, http://daq.state.nc.us/quick/summit.

The summit will focus on options for improving air quality in the Southeast region, as recommended by a report the governors called for at the 2001 summit in Gatlinburg, Tenn. The governors of North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina signed an agreement, known as the Southern Air Principles, which called on participating states to develop a multi-pollutant strategy for improving air quality in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

A report on the Southern Air Principles will be presented to the governors at this week's summit along with results and recommendations from the Southern Appalachian Mountains Initiative (SAMI). SAMI is a multi-state effort charged with studying and recommending solutions to the region's key air quality concerns - ozone, haze and acid deposition.

The Southern Air Principles was signed at the 2001 summit by Governors Mike Easley of North Carolina, Don Sundquist of Tennessee and Roy Barnes of Georgia. South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges signed the principles at a later date. In the document, the governors pledged to work together in developing a strategy for improving air quality by: reducing nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and mercury emissions; and promoting innovative transportation and energy policies.

More information about the Governors' Summit and other air quality issues in North Carolina can be found at the N.C. Division of Air Quality's Web site, http://daq.state.nc.us.

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