Buncombe County Government, NC / Asheville-Buncombe Air Quality Agency

Speakers include the Director of the NC Division of Air Quality, Director of WNC Air Quality Agency and WNC District Manager of Duke Energy.

New this year we will hear from a meteorologist with the NC DAQ about changes to air quality forecasting in the mountains and also from a representative of the Blue Horizons Project about cost effective actions to reduce energy demand and emissions.

No description provided.

Request for Delegation of authority to implement and enforce the Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 111(d)/129 Federal Plan under 40 CFR 62 Subpart LLL - Federal Plan Requirements for Sewage Sludge Incineration Units Constructed on or Before October 14, 2010.

Air quality officials from local and state levels recently held an "Ozone Season Kickoff" at the Land-of-Sky Regional Council. Ozone season begins in April and lasts throughout the summer. Topics discussed include air quality conditions and emission control programs in NC. For more information about the kickoff and air quality in Buncombe County, contact the Land-of-Sky Regional Council at 828.251.6622 or info@landofsky.org.

Here is the entire Land-of-Sky Regional Air Quality's Ozone Kickoff 2015 press conference.

To view the news update which summarizes it, visit:
http://youtu.be/KdUKEGU65BI

In this Buncombe News Update you'll find out who the winner are from the WNC Regional Air Quality Agency's 2013 Clean Air Awards.

The annual Ozone Season Kickoff Event and Press Conference from the Land-of-Sky Regional Council's Clean Air Campaign. Speakers include Paul Muller of the NC Division of Air Quality, Ashley Featherstone of the WNC Regional Air Quality Agency, Bill Jackson of the US Forest Service, and Bill Eaker of the Land of Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition.

Discussions include air quality conditions, trends, and programs to improve air quality in Western North Carolina.

WNC Regional Air Quality Agency (WNCRAQA) and the Buncombe County Solid Waste Department hosted a FREE gas can exchange program at the Buncombe County Landfill at 85 Panther Branch Road in Alexander. The exchange coincided with the weekly Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Friday August 10th from 9am to 3pm, while supplies last. Citizens brought their old EMPTY gas cans (that are not equipped with new spill and vent-proof features) to the event and exchanged each one for a new, environmentally friendly, Briggs and Stratton gas can. The new cans were available in 2-gallon and 5-gallon sizes, and there was a limit of 5 new cans per person. This purpose of this project is to reduce air pollution emissions. The WNC Regional Air Quality Agency has entered into an agreement with a corporate donor to receive and exchange the lower emitting gas cans for the benefit of the citizens in our area.

Since 2004, the Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency (WNCRAQA) has been giving special recognition to local businesses and other organizations that have gone above and beyond air quality rules and regulations to implement voluntary, innovative programs that reduce air pollution in our region. This year, with the assistance of the Agency's Advisory Committee, the awards program was updated and expanded to include more detailed guidelines and generate more interest from the local community. The recipients of the ninth-annual Clean Air Excellence Awards go to Bill Eaker, Environmental Services Manager at Land-of-Sky Regional Council, and to Mountain Mobility, Buncombe County's Community Transportation System.

Bill Eaker of Land-of-Sky Regional Council has over 30 years of experience in environmental, land use, and growth management planning at the local, regional, and state levels. He has worked at Land-of-Sky Regional Council since 1981 and provides technical assistance to local governments on environmental issues in the areas of air quality planning, clean vehicle technologies, and water resources management. Bill currently serves as the Coordinator of the Regional Clean Air Campaign, which he worked to establish in 1998, and the Land-of-Sky Clean Vehicles Coalition, which he established in 2004. Under Bill's leadership, the Coalition has assisted numerous public and private sector stakeholders in developing and securing grant funding for alternative fuel vehicle and infrastructure projects.

Mountain Mobility, Buncombe County's Community Transportation System, has taken proactive measures to effectively reduce the system's vehicle emissions by becoming the first community transportation system in the state of North Carolina to use alternative fuel vehicles in a paratransit fleet. A recent project funded by (ARRA) stimulus grant monies involved the conversion of 10 fleet vehicles to a dual fuel system using the PRINS Alternative Fuel System, allowing them to operate on autogas (liquid propane) in addition to gasoline. An onsite LP fueling tank was installed at the Mountain Mobility facility as a part of the project. In addition, 12 new Goshen Coach buses with dual compressed natural gas (CNG)/gasoline fuel systems were purchased to replace 11 paratransit gasoline-powered vans and one diesel-powered light transit vehicle. As a result of the project, 51% of Mountain Mobility's fleet now uses alternative fuels, which has reduced air pollution emissions, including 91.6 tons per year of greenhouse gases.

For more information about air quality in Buncombe County and Western North Carolina or for the Clean Air Excellence Program, you can visit buncombecounty.org or call 88-250-6777.

The Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency (WNCRAQA) was awarded a $31,500 grant through the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR) Diesel Emissions -- Economic Recovery Grant Program to reduce diesel emissions from the emergency response fleets in Buncombe County and the City of Asheville. Project partners include: the Buncombe County Fire Marshal's Office, seven local Fire Departments (City of Asheville, Broad River, Black Mountain, Enka-Candler, Skyland, Swannanoa, and West Buncombe), and the of Land of Sky Regional Council's Clean Vehicles Coalition. Diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) were installed on 20 pre-2007 fire engines utilized by the seven fire departments. Fire trucks must idle when responding to a fire because the different types of engines are utilized to pump water, operate ladders, and to pressurize the brakes so that the engines will be ready to respond quickly to another call if necessary. This means that the vehicles will idle, sometimes for hours, burning fuel and releasing pollution. The DOCs have been EPA-verified to reduce particulate matter emissions by 20%, hydrocarbon emissions by 66%, and carbon monoxide emissions by 41%. DOCs are currently the best retrofit option for fire engines.

The Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency talks about the benefits of newer wood stoves on our health and the environment. Presented by Ashley Featherstone of the WNC Air Quality Agency and featuring a video produced by Environment Canada.

Video produced for WNC Air Quality Agency about grant received from EPA to retrofit Buncombe, Madison, Transylvania and Haywood counties with air pollution control devices.

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For more information about Buncombe County Government, visit http://www.buncombecounty.org/.

Students from Erwin Middle School produced and starred in video on open burning procedures for WNC Regional Air Quality Agency.