►
Description
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.
B
C
I'd
like
to
thank
our
event:
sponsors,
the
regional,
clean
air
campaign,
the
north
carolina
division
of
air
quality,
the
western
north
carolina
regional
air
quality
agency,
land
of
sky,
clean
vehicles
coalition,
and
also
a
special
thanks
to
buncombe
county
television.
For
sharing
this
information
with
folks
here
in
buncombe,
county.
A
C
C
A
C
C
C
Pl,
please
put
that
in
the
chat
box
or
email
terry
albrecht
at
terry
landisguy.org,
that's
terry
landisky.org
and
he'll
try
to
help
you
get
back
on
and
if
you're,
having
any
sound
issues
problems
with
the
audio
try
dialing
into
the
call-in
number,
that's
in
the
invitation,
and
if
you
want
to
jot
that
number
down,
I
can
go
ahead
and
give
it
to
you.
It
is.
D
D
Unlike
other
years,
we
were
really
looking
at
establishing
some
pathways
to
a
cleaner
energy
future.
In
late
2019,
the
company
made
its
commitment
or
announced
its
commitment
to
be
net
zero,
carbon
emitting
by
2050..
Well,
we
got
a
lot
of
questions
from
customers
and
other
stakeholders
across
the
state
they
were
asking.
Well,
how
are
you
going
to
do
it?
You
know
you
made
this
goal,
but
now
what
are
those
ways
to
get
there?
D
So
you've
got
those
70
percent
reductions
by
2030
and
really
leveraging
all
those
tools
in
the
toolbox
from
solar,
wind
energy
storage
grid
investments,
new
technologies
that
we
don't
even
know
about
yet,
but
are
that
are
being
developed
every
every
day
as
well
as
policy
advancements.
So
when
we
think
about
those
grid,
investments
we're
thinking
about
ways
to
get
more
renewables
to
customers,
more
renewables
onto
the
grid,
more
storage
onto
the
grid
and
other
zero
admitting
resources.
D
And
so
when
we
started
to
do
that,
we
wanted
to
graphically
show
those
various
scenarios
and
so
those
scenarios,
if
you
look
at
this
chart-
and
you
look
at
the
dashed
or
dotted
orange
line
there
at
the
top
at
negative
50
percent,
so
those
are
kind
of
how
we
intend
to
meet
a
50
reduction.
And
then,
if
you
look
at
the
green
dash
line
further
down
on
the
chart,
that's
the
70
percent
and,
of
course,
along
the
horizontal
axis
you
get
the
year.
D
So
if
you
think
about
2030
in
the
different
pathways
that
are
available
or
that
we
modeled
and
to
reach
a
70
reduction
in
carbon
emissions
by
2030..
This
was
all
new
to
this
year's
irp
in
years.
Past
is
generally
just
what
you
know
what
generation
resources
are
needed
and
at
what
time
to
meet
growing
customer
energy
demands.
D
The
most
significant
work
has
really
happened
just
over
the
last
few
years,
so
in
2015,
when
the
company
announced
its
plans
to
retire
the
actual
coal
plant,
which
was
which
came
online
in
1964,
you
know
we.
We
recognize
that
that
was
a
significant
investment
for
this
community,
and
so
we
launched
into
construction
and
I'm
happy
to
report
that
the
that
the
coal
plant
that
was
scheduled
to
be
retired
is
now
retired
and
it's
being
demolished.
If
anyone
has
had
the
opportunity
to
drive
around
south
asheville
or
even
drive
around
the
long
shoals.
D
Road
exit
on
interstate
26,
you've
likely
noticed
that
the
large
stacks
that
were
once
a
part
of
the
horizon
of
our
community
are
no
longer
there.
You
also,
if
you
could
look
even
beyond
some
of
those
trees.
You
can
see
other
substantial
removals
from
the
you
know
from
the
coal
pile
to
some
of
the
other.
Supporting
equipment
of
the
plant
has
been,
has
been
demolished
and
is
being
removed.
D
You
know,
and
so
earlier
this
year
we
completed
the
construction
of
a
highly
efficient
natural
gas-fired
power
plant.
It's
about
75
percent,
more
efficient
than
the
re
than
the
coal
plant
that
emit
replaced
and
because
natural
gas
burns
cleaner
than
coal,
it
emits
about
60
percent
fewer
carbon
emissions
per
megawatt
hour
than
the
plant
that
it
replaced.
99
reduction
in
sulfur
dioxide,
an
additional
40
reduction
in
nitrogen
oxides
and
mercury
emissions
has
been
have
been
eliminated.
You
know
the
other
and
the
other
important
part
of
this.
D
We
are
cooling
or
operating
this
plant
using
cooling
towers,
so
the
amount
of
water
that
is
needed
to
efficiently
operate
the
the
generation
plant
is
substantially
reduced.
Other
key
investments
that
we're
making
in
the
region
is
battery
storage.
Hopefully
you
saw
in
the
in
the
media
about
a
month
ago
that
we
announced
the
the
commercial
operation
of
the
largest
battery
storage
facility
in
north
carolina
here
in
south
asheville,
actually
in
the
shiloh
community,
just
off
of
sweden
creek
road
in
between
kind
of
as
you're
getting
closer
to
asheville.
D
D
That
we're
able
to
really
leverage
and
take
advantage
of
with
battery
storage.
So
if
you
look
at
our
kind
of
corporate
commitment
or
our
corporate
direction,
you
know
we
plan
to
invest
about
600
million
dollars
in
battery
storage
projects
across
six
states
but
locally
outside
of
the
asheville
rock
hill
project.
We're
also
looking
around.
D
Really
looking
at
those
ambitious
goals
for
70
reduction
of
greenhouse
gas
emissions
by
2030
and
carbon
neutrality
by
2050..
You
know
that
report
is
due
out
to
the
governor.
A
report
is
due
to
the
governor
later
this
year
and
it's
just
a
really
exciting.
It's
a
really
exciting
piece
of
work
to
be
a
part
of
in
our
company.
E
E
E
D
E
D
So
the
the
biggest
change
of
the
asheville
plant
is
the
fuel
source
in
which
is
emitted.
So,
if
you
think
about
the
mercury,
if
you
think
about
the
emissions
that
occur
at
the
plant,
mercury
is
emitted
through
the
combustion
process
of
coal.
Well,
the
coal
plant
is
no
longer
is
no
longer
being
operated,
it's
been
retired,
and
now
it's
been
replaced
by
natural
gas.
So
you
know
the
most
significant
change.
Is
this
the
fuel
source
which
is
which
is
driving
the
operation
of
the
the
generation
plan?.
E
D
So
jim
I
that
is
I'd,
have
to
verify,
but
I
think
it's
2005
is
my
understanding,
but
jim
I'm
happy
to
follow
up
with
you
anytime.
Jim
renfrow
asks
you
a
question
about
air
quality.
You
do
get
a
little
bit
nervous
because
he's
he
only
has
a
lifetime
of
service
and
air
quality.
The
gym
I'm
happy
to
follow
up,
but
I'm
I'm
almost
positive.
It's
2005.
C
Today,
thanks
jason
so
much,
we
appreciate
it
all
right,
we'll
turn
it
over
to
mike
abkrazenkus
he's
the
director
of
the
north
carolina
division
of
air
quality
and
mike's
been
participating
in
this
event
for
the
last
few
years
and
it
usually
gets
a
trip
to
asheville
to
the
mountains
out
of
it.
But
sorry,
mike
you
couldn't
be
with
us
today
in
person,
but
hopefully
next
year,.
B
Well,
thank
you
bill.
I
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
be
with
all
of
you
today
and
I
want
to
thank
you
bill
and
your
group
for
your
continued
leadership
and
continuing
this
event
in
unprecedented
times
and
just
really
appreciate
the
partnership
in
continuing
the
mission
of
clean
air
in
western
north
carolina.
So
thank
you
so
much
for
the
opportunity
it's
good
to
see
or
here
from
all
of
you
here
today.
So
I
want
to
just
talk
a
little
bit
about
how
things
are
going
from
an
air
quality
perspective.
B
There's
lots
of
good
news
to
share,
and
this
morning
I'm
going
to
begin
with
an
illustration
of
our
greatest
success
in
improving
air
quality
in
north
carolina,
where
it's
no
more
visible
and
noticeable
than
right
there
in
western
north
carolina
mountains,
where
visibility
has
drastically
improved
and
by
the
way
it's
great
to
hear
jim
renfrow
is
on
the
line
and
attending
today,
another
great
partner
and
someone
who's
responsible
for
collecting
some
of
the
data.
We
see
here
on
this
slide
right
now.
B
The
improvements
we've
accomplished
in
the
great
smoky
mountains
national
park
as
an
example
are
a
dramatic
improvement
and
on
this
sharp
chart
showing
the
worst
visibility
days
in
the
smokies.
You
see
these
stacked
bar
charts
right
and
they're,
showing
the
last
19
years
of
light
extinction
from
speciated
pm
2.5
data.
B
That
clearly
indicates
the
ammonium
sulfate
fraction
of
the
pm.
2.5
was
the
dominant
contributor
to
light
extinction
and
reduced
visibility,
but
also
focus
on
the
visual
range
improvements.
That's
the
black
line
here
on
this
graph
relative
to
that
secondary
axis
on
the
right
side
of
the
graph
shown
here,
you're
seeing
visibility
and
visual
range
improving
from
about
28
miles
on
the
worst
visibility
days
about
a
decade
ago
to
just
short
of
50
miles
today,
based
on
the
the
latest
data.
So
that's
progress.
You
can
see-
and
it's
great
proof
that
our
partnerships
are
working.
B
These
federal
state,
local
and
private
partnerships
are
working,
regulatory
and
non-regulatory
approaches
are
working,
well-timed,
market
influences
are
helping
and
the
mission
reductions
are
truly
working,
and
in
this
year
of
celebrating
the
50th
anniversary
of
the
1970
clean
air
act,
it's
truly
remarkable.
What
we've
achieved
together
so
congratulations
and
we
need
to
keep
up
the
great
work
when
we
take
a
little
closer
look
at
some
of
the
ambient
data
from
western
north
carolina,
and
here
we're
looking
at
fine
particle
concentrations
at
a
variety
of
monitors
in
western
north
carolina.
B
You
can
see
that
we've
had
we've
got
quite
an
awesome
trend
going
over
the
last
20
years
or
so
relative
to
the
20
2012
pm
2.5
national
ambient
air
quality
standard,
the
annual
standard
of
12
micrograms
per
cubic
meter
we're
on
average
about
56
of
that
standard.
Now
in
western
north
carolina
just
tremendous
progress.
So
it's
no
surprise
that
we're
seeing
such
great
improvements
in
visibility
throughout
western
north
carolina.
B
If
we
transition
to
looking
at
ozone
concentrations
in
western
north
carolina,
it's
a
similar
story.
The
2015
standard,
the
national
ambient
air
quality
standard
is
shown
there,
the
the
bottom
red
dashed
line
and
and
we're
well
below
those
that
that
standard
at
our
monitoring
sites
in
western
north
carolina.
So
again,
tremendous
news,
tremendous
progress
there
and
really
took
a
group
effort,
and
just
so.
This
is
something
that
we
should
all
cherish
and
take
pride
in,
because
we've
all
helped
with
these
improvements
over
the
many
years.
B
So
let's
continue
with
the
encouraging
news,
with
a
focus
on
ozone
concentrations
in
the
charlotte
area.
Last
year
around
this
time
we
were
very
nervous
about
how
close
we
were
to
potentially
violating
the
2015
ozone
standard
in
the
charlotte
area.
We
were
carefully
evaluating
data
from
the
2019
ozone
season,
looking
at
cause
and
effect
relationships
that
led
to
some
of
the
enhanced
ozone
concentrations.
We
saw
in
that
metro
area
in
2019
through
last
winter
and
early
spring
of
2020.
B
This
is
march
and
april
data
2019
versus
2020.,
so
the
percent
change
in
vmt
average
statewide
from
the
months
of
march
and
april
2019
through
2020.,
and
you
kind
of
see
on
a
daily
basis
in
the
first
week
and
a
half
or
so
of
march.
You
know
about
the
same
as
you'd
expect,
but
then,
once
the
the
first
executive
order
came
out
there
in
mid-march,
you
know
things
drastically
changed
from
a
vehicle
miles,
traveled
perspective
across
the
state.
B
So
how
does
that
manifest
itself
in
any
way
in
the
air
pollution
data
that
we
collect
and
so
taking?
A
preliminary
look
here
at
mean
nitrogen
dioxide
data
in
our
major
urban
areas,
at
some
of
our
roadside
monitors
in
charlotte
and
raleigh
and
a
rural
background
site
in
northampton
county
2018
dated
the
green
bar
2019
data,
the
blue
bars
2020
data
that
the
yellow
bars
you
can
see.
The
mean
data
shows
that
the
20
to
20
data
at
least
year
to
date
through
september
30th,
is
all
lower.
B
All
right,
probably
something
you
would
expect,
based
on
what
we
just
looked
at
with
the
vmt
metric.
So
let's
cut
the
nitrogen
dioxide
data
a
little
bit
differently,
instead
of
the
mean
at
those
sites
over
the
same
years,
let's
look
at
the
98th
percentile
of
the
data
in
the
the
the
the
range
of
concentrations
has
changed,
but
on
average
you're,
seeing
about
a
five
part
per
billion
reduction
in
2020
to
date.
B
So
this
is
still
nitrogen
dioxide
data,
roadside
near
sources,
mobile
sources,
obviously,
and
one
of
the
busiest
of
stretches
of
roadway
in
north
carolina,
the
average
traffic
counts
along
this
stretch
of
roadway
for
the
six
month
period.
Ending
september
30th
is
down
an
average
of
26.8
percent
from
the
same
period
in
2019.
So
if
you
focus
in
on
the
red
bars,
that's
the
2020
data
at
this
this
site,
the
left
set
of
bars
on
the
left
side
of
the
slide.
B
Here,
it's
the
average
no2
data
and
you're,
seeing
quite
a
drastic
drop
in
the
2020
data,
especially
early
in
the
pandemic
months.
If
you
look
at
the
maximums,
you
know
over
on
the
right
hand,
side
of
this.
This
slide,
you
can
see
that
they
were
also
lower.
So
if
you
look
at
the
mean
the
average,
the
maximums,
the
minimums
they
all
show
lower
in
2020-
and
you
know
when
considering
this
data,
one
can
start
putting
together
the
pieces
right
on
making
some
conclusions.
B
All
right,
so
you
know,
we've
just
illustrated
that
there's
been
some
impact
to
air
quality
from
the
pandemic
and
there's
a
lot
of
work
further
work
to
be
done
there.
But
let's
talk
a
little
bit
about
how
our
agency
has
been
operating
and
really
glad
to
report
that
we're
operating
very
effectively
with
most
staff
teleworking.
B
That's
been
true
since
mid
to
late
march,
and
we've
been
very
fortunate
to
have
a
lot
of
the
business
communication,
platforms
and
productivity
tools
in
place
from
microsoft,
teams
to
sharepoint
to
webex
video
conference
platforms
very
much
like
the
one
that
we're
using
here
today.
All
of
these
have
been
in
you
since
day,
one
of
the
pandemic
for
for
us,
and
so
that
enabled
a
very
smooth
transition
to
teleworking
for
our
staff.
Statewide
I'd
say
one
of
the
the
biggest
challenges
is
really
related
to
hardware.
B
We
we
allowed
our
employees
to
take
their
computers
from
the
office,
their
desktop
computers
home
to
do
work
from
home.
Not
all
of
those
desktop
setups
came
with
all
the
peripherals
like
webcams
and
microphones,
they're,
not
part
of
our
standard
desktop
configuration,
but
and
so
a
lot
of
those
staff.
You
know
they
can
certainly
do
their
job
from
home
with
their
computer,
but
they're
not
able
to
fully
take
advantage
of
these
great
and
powerful
tools
that
we
have
these
productivity
tools.
B
So
in
the
future,
we're
going
to
be
looking
for
additional
financial
finances
to
shift
to
laptops
with
cameras
and
microphones
for
all
of
our
staff,
so
workload
has
remained
high
through
the
pandemic.
For
us,
I
can't
remember
a
busier
time
and
it's
not
related
to
the
pandemic,
necessarily
it's
just
a
very
busy
time
for
us,
but
across
our
division
our
ambient
monitoring
program
is
operating.
B
Normally,
our
labs
are
open,
submitted
all
the
required
plans
to
epa
we've
upgraded
our
data
stream
to
where
we're
now
submitting
data
from
the
field
to
epa's
air
now
site
more
quickly,
and
so
people
are
getting
near
real-time
data
with
less
of
a
time
lag.
That's
great.
Our
outreach
program
has
pivoted
to
a
web-based
training
and
classroom
outreach
from
a
compliance
perspective.
Our
division
has
been
performing
a
mix
of
partial
or
virtual
compliance
evaluations
and
at
sites
where
appropriate
social
distancing
can
be
achieved,
we're
doing
full
compliance
evaluations
as
well.
B
Our
permitting
productivity
metrics
are
up
since
teleworking
started,
and
if
you
take
a
look
at
some
of
that
data,
2019
data
shown
here
with
the
green
bars
2020
data
shown
with
the
blue
bars
and
I've
kind
of
highlighted
the
last
six
months
of
information,
where
you
know
we're
looking
at
title.
Five
permit
final
actions:
you
know
almost
month
over
month
we're
more
productive
with
a
similar
staffing
level
in
2020
in
a
telework
mode
than
we
were
in
the
office
in
2019.
B
So
this
will
help
inform
future
business
strategies
and
future
possible,
possibly
expanded,
telework
options
for
our
employees.
But
this
is
this
is
a
great
metric.
We
want
to
keep
tracking
these
types
of
productivity
metrics
across
our
division
and
then,
as
you
know,
the
public
participation
process
is
a
critical
piece
to
our
rulemaking
and
permitting
programs.
B
That's
the
pandemic
has
had
a
a
pretty
big
presented,
a
pretty
big
challenge
to
both
our
division
and
our
department.
Where
and
how
we're
conducting
this
business.
A
shift
to
virtual
hearings
and
public
meetings
has
been
very
successful
and
we
continue
to
improve
our
use
of
these
digital
platforms
for
those
purposes.
But
a
remaining
challenge
is
that
the
public
doesn't
necessarily
have
the
technology
or
great
internet
connections
in
rural
areas,
and
so
recognizing
this.
The
division
has
been
expanding.
B
The
ways
that
folks
can
participate
in
these
public
processes,
we've
added
phone
lines
to
the
public,
to
call
in
to
public
hearings
in
public
meetings
and
provide
a
comment
that
way.
We've
also
established
and
advertised
phone
lines
attached
to
voicemail
boxes,
where
folks
can
provide
their
comments
to
particular
matters
of
interest.
B
That
way-
and
this
is
all
above
and
beyond
the
traditional
means
of
commenting
via
letters
and
emails,
and
so
one
of
the
key
questions
for
the
future
will
be
do
we
need
to
provide
these
alternative
digital
pathways
post
pandemic,
and
so
that's
something
we'll
be
looking
at
moving
forward
all
right.
Next.
B
There
we
go
next,
I
want
to
touch
on
some
of
our
work
related
to
monitoring
and
measuring
emerging
compounds
in
ambient
air
and
the
particular
emerging
compounds
I'm
referring
to
are
per
and
polyfloral
alkyl
substances
or
pfas
compounds.
It's
a
class
of
man-made
chemicals
used
for
multiple
purposes,
they're
made
up
of
chains
of
carbon
atoms,
surrounded
by
fluorine
atoms,
and
they
produce
a
very
stable
carbon
fluorine
bond
and
we're
learning
over
time
that
some
of
these
compounds
are
persistent
by
the
cumulative
and
toxic
to
humans
if
ingested.
B
There's
very
little
information
available
regarding
the
inhalation
risks
associated
with
most
of
these
compounds.
But,
as
I
noted
a
moment
ago,
there's
concern
about
ingestion
through
drinking
water,
and
so
this
is
most
certainly
a
multimedia
issue
within
deq,
and
we
at
the
division
of
airport
are
working
very
closely
with
our
colleagues
in
the
division
of
water
resources
and
the
division
of
waste
management
that
are
charged
with
protecting
the
state's
surface
and
ground
waters
respectively.
B
So
in
sharing
with
you
today,
what
we've
been
doing
in
the
division
of
air
quality?
The
last
couple
of
years
we
established
a
network
of
monitoring
sites
at
or
near
each
of
our
seven
regional
offices
to
measure
deposition,
atmospheric
deposition
of
these
emerging.
This
class
of
emerging
compounds,
pfas
compounds.
B
We
started
doing
these
measurements
at
some
sites
in
2018.
We
pretty
much
got
all
the
sites
online
in
2019,
and
so
this
tile
plot
is
one
really
quick
way
for
us
to
share
whether
pfas
was
detected
in
this
atmospheric
deposition
measure
measurement
or
not.
So
the
green
blocks
were
non-detect
the
yellow
blocks.
We
detected
some
pfas
in
the
sample,
and
so
what
you're
seeing
here,
2018
2019
and
the
next
slide
shows
you.
The
2020
data
are
mostly
non-detects.
B
No
detections
have
have
occurred
at
our
asheville
site
at
the
asheville
regional
office,
but
in
these
few
cases
where
we
have
detected
efas
in
the
wet
or
dry
deposition
measurements,
it's
usually
a
very
low
level
concentration
in
the
single
digit
part
per
trillion,
and
it's
usually
some
of
the
eight
carbon
legacy
compounds
like
phos.
That's
perfluorooctane,
sulfur,
sulfonic
acid,
which
was
a
key
ingredient
many
years
ago
in
certain
stain
repellents.
B
So
we're
still
investigating
you,
know
kind
of
the
cause
and
effect
relationship.
It's
it's.
These
are
week-long
samples.
So
it's
really
difficult
to
do
in-depth
source
attribution
analysis,
but
what
it's
informing
us
is.
That
of
is
that
there's
very
little
background
contributions
from
atmospheric
deposition
to
any
pfas
we
might
find
in
surface
water
bodies
or
groundwater
bodies
in
north
carolina.
B
B
So
we're
looking
forward
to
that,
and
we
really
appreciate
all
of
the
the
collaborations
and
the
partnerships
from
folks
like
bill
and
land
of
sky
and
the
clean
cities
coalitions
across
the
state
and
we've
just
had
a
lot
of
great
support
and
a
lot
of
great
partnerships
and
we're
looking
to
do
a
lot
more
good
with
the
money,
the
additional
money
that
this
that
is
yet
to
be
distributed.
So
looking
forward
to
that,
and
with
that
that's
the
end
of
my
presentation
bill.
B
B
C
C
I
also
want
to
recognize
a
couple
of
other
daq
officials
that
are
on
the
call
today
brendan
davey
who's,
the
supervisor
of
the
asheville
regional
office,
of
of
the
division
of
air
quality
and
also
keith
bamberger
who's.
The
education
and
outreach
specialist
here
in
the
asheville
office
that
we've
been
working
with
for
many
many
years
and
they'll
be
available
to
help
answer
some
questions
later
as
well.
C
I
also
want
to
also
thank
jim
renfrow
mike
thanks
for
recognizing
jim
jim
has
been
a
wonderful
partner,
he's
the
air
quality
specialist
with
great
smoky
mountains,
national
park
and
one
of
the
the
most
informed
individuals
on
air
quality
conditions,
probably
in
the
country
and
jim
and
bill
jackson
who's.
Also
on
this
call
bills
with
the
formerly
with
the
u.s
forest
service.
C
But
we
we
conducted
an
assessment
of
what
was
going
on
and
what
we
could
do
as
a
region
and
that
led
to
the
creation
of
the
regional
clean
air
campaign,
which
is
an
education
and
outreach
program.
We
were
trying
to
educate
the
public
and
also
decision
makers,
and
hopefully
that
would
lead
to
action
which
it
did
so
ashley
if
you're
ready,
we'll
turn
it
over
to
you.
Thanks
for
being
with
us.
F
C
F
Okay,
great
well,
thank
you
so
much
for
hosting
the
annual
air
quality
update
press
conference
glad
to
be
here
and
go
ahead
and
just
jump
right
in
with
my
slides.
I
have
just
a
brief
overview
of
our
local
agency,
also
have
a
little
bit
of
data
or
updates
on
our
monitoring
data
and
what's
new
with
us.
So
this
is
a
question
we
get.
A
lot
is
what
is
a
local
air
pollution
control
agency?
F
We
are
one
of
the
three
local
agencies
here
in
north
carolina
that
is
certified
by
the
emc
to
implement
the
air
pollution
regulations
here
in
our
local
area.
We
work
with
the
epa
and
with
our
partners
at
the
north
carolina
daq
to
maintain
this
program,
and
we
do
pretty
much
what
the
regional
offices
do.
F
We
issue
the
permits
and
ensure
compliance
with
the
rules.
We
run
our
ambient
monitors
here
for
fine
particulate
and
ozone,
and
we
also
implement
the
asbestos
removal
rules
and
the
open
burning
rules
here
in
our
area
and
try
to
do
some
education
and
outreach
along
the
way,
also
working
with
our
partners.
F
So
here
in
western
north
carolina,
air
pollution
has
been
of
interest
for
a
long
time.
We
do
have
some
unique
challenges,
with
our
topography
with
mountains
and
the
valleys.
We
do
get
temperature
inversions
and
we
have
what
we
call
the
bowl
effect
and
so
locally
generated
pollution
can
exacerbate
the
problem.
F
So
I
think
that's
really
what
led
to
the
creation
of
this
agency.
We
were
the
city
of
asheville
smoke,
abatement
program
from
1947
to
67
and
then
back
in
67.
A
lot
of
the
counties
realized.
There
was
an
issue
here
and
they
got
some
money
to
do
some
air
pollution
monitoring
that
was
provided
by
the
u.s
public
health
service,
and
we
had
a
multi-county
agency
with
four
counties
for
three
years
before
the
predecessor
agency
was
formed
back
in
1970,
with
haywood
county
and
since
2000
we
have
reformed
with
buncombe
county
and
the
city
of
asheville.
F
F
F
And
I
was
just
going
to
go
through
a
little
bit
of
our
data
similar
to
what
mike
was
showing.
This
is
just
for
the
buncombe
county
monitors,
but
you
can
see
that
we've
had
lots
of
good
improvements
from
this
graph
shows
from
2005
up
until
I'm
sorry
through
the
2019,
but
you
can
see
that
ozone
values
have
been
decreasing
over
time
and
the
lines
up
above
are
the
national
standards
which
get
modified
from
time
to
time.
F
Current
standard
of
70,
showing
here
we've
had
a
lot
of
improvements
associated
with
different
programs:
cleaner
gas
nationwide,
cleaner
engines
just
obviously
power
plants
putting
on
scrubbers.
This
is
just
a
plot
showing
the
air
quality
index.
I
have
the
green,
yellow,
orange
and
occasional,
very
occasional
red
days.
You
can
see
here.
F
Similar
plot
for
the
pm
2.5,
it's
also
decreasing
a
lot
and
back
in
2006
as
a
result
of
the
north
carolina
clean
smokestacks
act.
The
asheville
coal-fired
power
plant
received
the
very
first
scrubbers
here
in
the
state
and
you
can
see
that
the
levels
were
declining
since
then.
Also
around
that
same
time,
we
had
cleaner
diesel
fuel
and
cleaner
engines,
so
there's
just
been
a
whole
host
of
different
things
that
have
come
together
and
resulted
in
the
clean
air
improvements
that
we're
seeing.
F
Again,
this
is
the
aqi
for
the
pm
2.5,
and
you
can
see
that
we
did
have
some
red
days
here
in
2016
with
the
fires,
the
wildfires
that
we
had
in
the
area-
and
this
is
just
meant
to
show
the
number
of
green
days.
We
do
have
mostly
green
days,
but
we
do
have
some
yellow
days
and
in
2016
we
had
some
orange
and
red
days
associated
with
those
fires,
and
we
actually
had
one
code
orange
ozone
day
back
in
2016.
F
F
This
is
the
code
just
want
to
encourage
everybody
to
be
familiar
with
it
and
just
wanted
to
touch
briefly
on.
What's
new
with
us
and
we're
very
excited
about
the
duke
energy
progress
monetization
project,
they
shut
down
the
coal-fired
boilers
this
year
and
they've
been
replaced
with
new
natural
gas
fuel
oil
fired
combined
cycle
equipment,
so
we're
going
to
see
even
more
reductions
in
pollution.
F
Also
new
this
year
with
the
cova
19
like
mike,
was
saying:
we've
had
modified
operations
associated
with
that
very
similar.
We
were
fortunate
that
we
had
laptops
already.
So
when
we
sent
most
of
our
staff
home
to
telework,
we
were
well
equipped
and
using
a
lot
of
those,
you
know
the
same
tools
that
he
referred
to,
which
have
really
helped
out,
and
we've
continued
to
be
effective,
running
our
monitoring
programs.
F
We
are
able
to
respond
to
complaints
with
social
distancing
procedures
and
we
are
have
resumed
doing
our
in
our
compliance
inspections
of
the
permitted
facilities
with
modified
procedures
to
minimize
any
time
indoors
and
do
use
virtual
tools
and
things
of
that
nature.
So
all
in
all,
it's
going
very
well.
It's
just
different
and
appreciate
everybody
for
pitching
in.
F
We
have
a
great
team
and
very
proud
of
them
and
fortunate
to
be
working
with
them
and
appreciate
all
their
efforts.
And
the
other
thing
that's
happened
with
us
is.
We
have
had
a
bit
of
a
reorganization
of
our
agency
here
in
the
last
year,
our
former
director,
david
brigman
retired,
with
29
years
of
service.
So
very
appreciative
of
him
and
again,
the
team
here
has
all
picked
up
extra
duties
as
we've
worked
to
fill
our
vacant
positions.
F
So
really
appreciate
that
one
other
thing
I
was
going
to
mention
as
far
as
what's
new,
we
get
a
lot
of
questions
from
citizens
about
wood
stoves.
A
lot
of
people
use
wood
stoves
here
in
western
north
carolina
and
we
do
try
to
encourage
using
the
cleanest
wood
stoves
possible
because,
again,
with
our
topography,
we
get
calls
from
citizens
who
are
concerned
because
their
neighbor
has
a
wood.
Stove,
and
sometimes
the
smoke
is,
you
know,
is
an
issue.
F
F
Also,
the
sulfur
dioxide
standard
we've
had
a
sulfur
dioxide,
monitor
cited
near
the
duke
energy
plant
for
the
last
three
years,
and
I've
got
some
data
here
on
that
the
standard
is
the
75
parts
per
billion
and
our
three
years
worth
of
data
show
that
we
were
at
11.5
so
well
in
compliance,
and
that
was
while
duke
was
burning
coal,
so
we
have,
they
have
received
permission
to
shut
down
that
monitor
and
now
they're,
not
burning
coal
anymore.
So
epa
is
currently
proposing
to
designate
our
area
as
attainment
unclassifiable.
F
And
finally,
I
just
wanted
to
highlight
some
voluntary
initiatives.
We
have
a
clean
air
excellence
award
program
that
we've
been
doing
for
the
last
several
years
had
some
help
from
our
citizens
advisory
committee.
On
this
and
every
year
in
the
beginning
of
the
year,
we
put
out
requests
for
nominations
for
companies
that
are
implementing
voluntary
initiatives.
F
Mostly,
you
know
it's
a
lot
of
energy
efficiency,
upgrades
and
fleet
projects
that
reduce
emissions
of
greenhouse
gases
and
of
criteria
air
pollutants.
So
we
like
to
try
to
give
special
recognition
and
highlight
these
efforts.
So
this
year
our
board
is
going
to
be
giving
an
award
to
eaton
corporation
arden
plant
they're,
a
manufacturer
of
power
management
products
like
low
voltage,
switch
gear.
Medium
voltage
drives
automatic
transfer
switches
here
in
arden
and
they
have
an
air
permit
with
our
facility.
F
So
we're
going
to
be
presenting
an
award
in
a
different
format,
since
our
board
is
meeting
virtually
but
just
wanted
to
highlight
their
efforts
and
recognize
them
for
their
good
work
and
try
to
get
the
word
out
about
those
types
of
efforts.
So
please
keep
that
in
mind.
If
you
know
any
companies
that
are
implementing
some
of
these
initiatives,
that
is
something
that
we
do
every
year
and
we
like
to
try
to
get
some
press
for
them
and
spread
the
word
about
these
initiatives.
F
F
C
C
E
C
A
Thank
you
very
much
bill.
Thank
you
for
the
for
the
introduction
and
the
opportunity
to
be
a
part
of
today's
events.
Thank
you
for
everybody,
everyone
for
being
here,
so
my
name
is
elliot
tarda
from
a
meteorologist
with
the
division
of
air
quality,
and
one
of
my
responsibilities
is
one
of
my
and
my
fellow
colleagues
meteorologist
colleagues.
A
A
In
addition
to
the
tragic
loss
of
property
in
life,
it
represented
a
significant
air
quality
forecast
challenge
for
us,
because
the
the
way
the
our
technology
was
working
at
the
time.
We
could
issue
additional
supplemental
forecasts
for
counties
that
were
outside
of
forecast
regions.
And
if
you
look
at
this
image
and
the
the
forecast
in
the
bottom
right
of
this
image,
you
can
see
some
of
those
supplemental
counties
that
we
were
issuing.
A
It
won't
be
that
it
won't
be
for
them
as
well.
So,
in
addition
to
to
the
the
fires,
we've
also
come
to
learn
as
well
as
we've
gone
through
time
and
precursor.
Emissions
for
ozone
have
decreased,
that
ozone
concentrations,
elevated
ozone
concentrations
are
becoming
increasingly
localized,
and
so
that
was
another
motivation
from
another
wrangle
to
inform
the
the
change
to
our
our
forecast
process.
A
A
We
learned
some
things
over
the
winter
of
2019
to
2020
and
we're
able
to
implement
some
of
those
in
2020
and
even
then
this
is
an
ongoing
process
and
and
we're
learning
things
and
you
know
we're
hearing
comments
and
feedback
and
and
incorporating
those
as
as
we
go
forward.
So
what
is
the
the
new
process?
Look
like.
So,
as
you
can
see,
every
single
county
now
in
north
carolina
has
an
air
quality
forecast,
and
that
was
also
a
another.
A
Motivation
of
this
effort
is
that
we
were
hearing
from
citizens
that
didn't
live
in
a
forecast
region.
That
said
well
where's
our
forecast,
and
so
we
heard
them
and-
and
we
said
we
can
expand
the
scope
of
our
forecast
to
include
them
as
well.
So
we
did
that
the
triad
area
is
still
under
the
responsibility
of
our
colleagues
and
counterparts
at
the
forsyth
county
office
of
environmental
assistance
and
protection,
but
the
remaining
counties
and
areas
are
covered
by
us
at
the
division.
A
So,
in
addition
to
breaking
out
each
forecast
or
each
the
the
forecast
by
each
county,
we've
also
split
up
our
ridgetop
regions
into
two
different
areas:
the
north
ridges
and
the
south
bridges.
The
north
ridges
are
basically
everywhere
from
greater
mount
mitchell
and
points
north
towards
ash
and
watauga
counties.
A
The
southridge
bridges
are
the
the
richtops
across
the
southern
part
of
the
north
carolina
mountains
and
those
include
frying,
pan,
purchase,
knob
and
joanna
bald,
and
so,
in
addition
to
to
that,
update,
we've
also
been
updating
how
we
present
our
data
as
well,
and
one
of
those
big.
A
big
step
in
that
effort
has
been
a
a
partnership
that
we've
entered
into
with
our
good
friends
at
the
north.
A
Based
on
what
data
has
already
been
observed,
a
a
new
site
for
our
air
quality
forecast
models.
We
run
some
in-house
forecast
models
daily
and
that
output
is
presented
on
this
page.
We've
got
a
lot
of
work
coming
down
coming
down
the
pike
for
the
future,
including
a
new
tool
for
our
ambient
monitoring.
A
So
in
addition
to
updating
our
our
our
forecasting
process,
updating
how
we're
presenting
our
data
we're
also
updating
how
we're
presenting
our
data
via
social
media.
So
we
have
recently
joined
and
updated
our
twitter.
The
way
our
forecasts
are
disseminated
on
twitter.
We're
now
able
to
send
out
automated
daily
forecast
tweets
that,
as
you
can
see
in
the
image
on
the
right
presents
a
map
of
the
entire
state
and
then
from
there.
A
We
provide
a
link
that
goes
directly
to
our
forecast
page
and
an
end
user.
Can
then
look
at
what
the
specific
air
quality
index
number
is
for
each
county,
and
then
we
also
have
our
discussion
products
there
as
well,
in
which
we
attempt
to
detail,
go
into
greater
detail
as
to
what
our
our
thoughts
are.
That
are
informing
the
forecast
and
we
also
share
updates
as
needed
on
our
air
quality
north
carolina
air
quality
forecast
center
facebook
page.
A
A
C
A
C
G
Thank
you
bill
and
thanks
so
much
for
having
me
so
today,
I'm
going
to
talk
a
little
bit
about
the
blue
horizons
project.
It
was
launched
in
february
2018
and
in
collaboration
with
the
city
of
asheville,
buncombe,
county
and
duke
energy,
and
it's
a
community
campaign
designed
to
enlist
public
support
and
provide
easy
access
to
resources
that
are
designed
to
help
everyone
in
buncombe
county,
be
more
energy
efficient
and
adopt
more
renewable
energy.
G
G
And
the
same
goes
for
businesses,
schools
and
office,
buildings
that
are
warming
up
and
getting
ready
for
the
day
of
operations
and
an
important
note
about
peak
energy
demand.
The
north
carolina
utilities
commission
mandates
that
duke
energy
progress,
our
utility
here
in
western
north
carolina
must
meet
that
energy
demand,
so
they
must
be
able
to
cover
more
than
that
peak
demand.
G
G
G
So
this
was
actually
surprising
to
me
when
I
started
this
work,
I
didn't
realize
it
was
quite
so
high,
but
you
know
heating
and
cooling
our
buildings
that
we
work
and
live
in
release
a
significant
portion
of
the
world's
greenhouse
gas
emissions,
and
this
is
a
little
look
into
how
the
average
southeast
home
uses
energy.
So
some
people
may
think
that
oh
their
tv
or
their
dryer
or
their
oven
uses
the
most
electricity.
G
So
what
can
we
all
do
about
this?
For
your
home?
There
are
several
programs
available.
Some
are
free.
Some
can
cost
a
little
bit
of
money,
but
primarily
they're
all
easy
entry
type
programs,
so
one
that
specifically
reduces
peak
energy
demand-
which
I
think
is
the
number
one
important
thing
to
participate
in-
is
dukes
energy-wise
home
program.
G
G
This
should
not
and
does
not,
in
my
experience
and
many
people,
that
I've
talked
to
cause
any
decrease
in
comfort
or
most
people,
don't
even
notice
that
this
is
happening
and
also
it's
important
to
note
that
these
peak
demand
events
only
happen
about
six
to
ten
days
a
year.
So,
six
to
ten
days
a
year,
this
program
will
cycle
your
heating
equipment,
your
hot
water
equipment
and
your
ac
in
the
summertime.
G
Very
rarely
actually
it's
used
in
the
summer,
but
in
the
winter
this
will
only
happen
about
six
to
ten
days
a
year,
only
for
a
few
hours
a
day.
So
it's
really
a
minimal
impact
on
you
and
you
get
a
bill
credit
for
participating,
and
this
also
helps
duke
energy
because
they
need
to
be
able
to
predict
the
demand
on
the
grid
and
when
peak
demand
is
happening
when
it's
20
degrees
out
in
february
in
the
morning
and
everyone's
getting
ready
for
work
in
school.
G
That
demand
can
be
unpredictable
because
it
is
such
a
huge
spike
based
on
or
compared
to
normal
energy.
Throughout
the
day.
Duke
energy
also
has
a
free,
in-home
energy
assessment
program
called
duke
home
energy
house
call.
So
a
contractor
will
come
to
your
home
they'll.
Do
a
walk
through
with
you
inspect
your
windows,
your
insulation,
how
air
sealed
your
home
is
they'll,
leave
you
with
a
home
energy
kit
that
includes
some
free,
led
light
bulbs,
free
water
saving
devices,
some
weather
stripping.
G
Some
other
goodies
like
that
and
they'll
also
talk
to
you
about
hey.
Maybe
your
attic
insulation
could
use
a
little
bit
of
an
upgrade
and
fun
fact:
attic
insulation
and
increasing.
It
is
one
of
the
most
cost
effective
things
you
can
do
in
your
own
home
to
reduce
your
energy
use
and
your
energy
bills,
but
they'll
also
direct
you
to
ways
to
save
money.
G
That
can,
you
know
at
least
afford
high
energy
bills,
some
of
the
homes
that
we
serve.
Maybe
like
an
800
square
foot
mobile
home
out
in
the
county.
They
would
see
200
to
300
a
month
energy
bills
in
the
winter
time,
which
is
just
unaffordable
and
then,
lastly,
for
your
home,
you
can
make
changes
in
your
home
that
are
free
to
reduce
your
energy
use
and
they'll.
G
Even
save
you
money
adjust
your
thermostat
air
seal
increase
insulation
hang
dry,
your
laundry
lower
your
water
heater
temperature
and
more,
and
there
are
two
handouts
in
the
handout
section
of
this
webinar,
where
I've
outlined
a
lot
of
the
steps
that
homes
can
take
and
businesses
could
take.
So
hopefully
you'll
take
a
look
at
those
and
then,
similarly
for
your
business.
G
If
you
want
to
make
your
facility
more
energy
efficient,
there
are
rebates
that
can
help
offset
the
cost
of
that.
For
example,
duke's
small
business
energy
saver
program
can
pay
up
to
80
percent
of
project
costs
for
an
energy
efficiency
retrofit
or
a
lighting
replacement,
duke's,
energy-wise,
home
or
sorry.
Energy-Wise
business
program
similarly
reduces
peak
demand
in
our
region
and
it's
a
slightly
different
program
than
the
home
program,
just
because
of
the
nature
of
businesses
and
the
equipment
that
they
have,
but
there's
also
annual
bill
credits.
G
And
then
a
little
bit
about
what
we're
doing
so
blue
horizons
project
is
all
about
promoting
residential
and
commercial
energy
efficiency
and
adopting
more
renewable
energy,
and
we
do
this
through
community
engagement,
partnering
with
community
organizations,
neighborhood
associations,
church
groups
and
really
anybody.
So
during
covid.
This
has
definitely
looked
a
lot
different
pre-covert.
G
I
was
going
to
about
50
events
per
year
just
to
share
the
message
and
get
the
word
out
about
what
we're
doing,
because
we're
trying
to
just
increase
the
knowledge
that
our
community
has
that
you
know
this
is
why
our
energy
use
is
a
problem.
Our
demand
for
energy
demands
action
and
here's
the
action
that
you
can
take.
G
G
This
is
just
a
little
bit
more
about
energy
savers
network,
the
weatherization
program.
I
do
get
a
lot
of
questions
about
this
program,
but
basically
an
income,
qualified
person
or
household
in
buncombe
county
receives
free
weatherization,
energy
efficiency,
upgrades
new
lighting,
air
sealing
and
insulation,
and
we
actually
do
diagnostics
and
measurement
and
verification
on
the
work
that
we
do
and
we
found
up
to
a
40
reduction
in
air
leakage
in
a
home
which
can
really
improve
the
air
quality
and
comfort
and
durability
of
for
the
occupants
of
that
home.
G
C
A
C
C
All
right,
I
wanted
to
tell
you
all
a
little
bit
about
some
of
the
efforts
that
are
going
on
here
in
the
asheville
metropolitan
area
to
reduce
emissions
from
motor
vehicles.
First,
I
want
to.
I
want
to
recognize
some
of
the
staff
of
the
land
of
sky
clean
vehicles
coalition,
which
is
the
group
that's
working
together
to
to
reduce
petroleum
use,
greenhouse
gases
and
reduce
air
pollutants
in
our
region
by
switching
to
alternative
fuels
and
advanced
technology
vehicles.
C
I've
been
serving
as
the
coordinator
we've
established,
the
coalition
back
in
2004
and
serving
as
the
coordinator
over
that
time,
and
also
chris
dobbins
is
our
fleet
advisor
he's
the
former
city
of
asheville
fleet
manager.
He
was
a
real
champion
in
the
region
through
the
use
of
various
alternative
fuels.
He
built
the
first
natural
gas
fueling
station
in
our
region
in
downtown
nashville
and.
C
C
A
C
This
just
shows
some
of
the
alternative
fuels
that
are
promoted
by
the
us:
clean
cities,
program,
biodiesel,
electric
natural
gas,
propane,
ethanol
and
hydrogen,
and
we
have
the
top
four
highlighted.
Those
are
the
ones
that
there's
been
the
most
interest
in
in
in
the
actual
metropolitan
area
that
we've
been
working
on
several
years
ago.
Department
of.
C
This
shows
the
accomplishments
that
our
stakeholders
in
our
region
have
been
making
over
the
number
of
years
here.
As
far
as
petroleum
reduction
goes,
and
you
can
see
that
we've
been
our
stakeholders
have
been
reducing
the
petroleum
use
about
a
million
gallons
per
year
as
far
as
greenhouse
gas
reductions
about
six
to
seven
thousand
tons
per
year
as
a
result
of
all
the
actions
that
they're
taking
here
in
our
in
our
five
county
area.
C
So
this
slide
just
shows
some
of
the
things
that
people
can
do
to
to
be
more
fuel
efficient
and
to
reduce
their
their
impact
on
on
the
environment,
of
course,
walking
riding
bikes
taking
transit
as
far
as
bikes
go
as
you've
noticed.
The
electric
bikes
and
scooters
have
been
extremely
popular,
really
really
growing
that
market
people
can
live
close
to
work
in
school.
C
They
can
telecommute,
and
I
highlighted
that
they
can
not
only
work
from
home,
but
also
in
the
outdoors
here
in
beautiful
western
north
carolina
to
take
your
laptop
out
on
the
blue
ridge
parkway,
and
and
do
your
business
band,
pooling
carpooling,
combining
errands
green
driving
by
reducing
your
speed,
reducing
your
idling
and,
like
I
said,
perching,
fuel,
efficient
and
low
emission
vehicles
and
a
wonderful
website
that
everybody
should
be
familiar
with.
Is
the
fuel
economy.gov
that
oak
ridge
national
lab
here
locally
develops
and
maintains?
C
C
We
get
some
great
greenhouse
gas
reductions
through
the
use
of
a
biodiesel
blends
and,
what's
what's
great
about
it,
is
it
can
be
used
in
any
diesel
vehicle
without
any
modification
there's
no
cost
to
to
switch
to
the
biodiesel.
Of
course,
the
fuel
itself
can
be
a
little
bit
more
expensive
than
petroleum
diesel,
but
it
is
a
real
cost-effective
way
for
communities
to
reduce
their
greenhouse
gas
emissions.
C
The
cherokee
boys
club
is
actually
making
their
own
biodiesel
using
waste
grease
from
harris,
casino
and
and
the
biltmore
state
has
been
making
their
own
biodiesel
for
some
time
and
using
it
in
their
we've
lost
many
of
the
commercial
pumps
at
stations
across
our
area,
but
the
biodiesel
use
in
fleets
has
has
been
really
steady
and
we're
local.
What
could
you
have
blew
ridge,
biofuels
here
locally
producing
the
fuel
for
us
propane,
auto
gas,
another
really
popular
alternative
fuel,
one
of
the
most
widely
used
worldwide.
C
Of
course,
compressed
natural
gas,
not
a
lot
of
movement,
adoption
of
natural
gas
vehicles
in
the
last
year,
but
we
do
have
an
excellent
infrastructure,
fueling
infrastructure.
Here
in
the
area
we
we've
got
probably
some
of
the
best
fueling
infrastructure
of
any
metro
area
in
the
country,
especially
considering
our
population.
C
C
As
far
as
deployment
of
electric
vehicles,
there
are
a
number
of
policies
in
place
that
are
encouraging
the
move
towards
electric
transportation.
Here
in
north
carolina.
The
governor's
executive
order
80
issued
about
two
years
ago
calls
for
the
creation
of
a
clean
energy
plan
that
has
been
developed
and
also
calls
for
having
80
000
zero
emission
vehicles
in
north
carolina
by
2025..
C
C
Got
funding
for
new
cleans,
clean
diesel
buses
and
then
there's
funding
for
the
eastern
bay
and
cherokee
indians
and
transylvania,
county
schools
for
electric
classes,
and
these
will
be
a
part
of
the
the
first
electric
buses
to
be
deployed
here
in
north
carolina.
So
we're
really
excited
about
that.
Unca
got
some
money
for
a
propane
shuttle.
Bus
and
henderson
county
haywood.
Electric
membership
in
the
city
of
morganton
got
money
for
dc
fast
chargers.
G
C
Through
through
phases,
two
and
three,
which
might
be
in
mind,
so
that's
a
quick
overview.
Here's
our
contact
information,
encourage
you
all.
If
you're
interested
in
learning
more
about
clean
transportation
options
to
reach
out
to
us
and
I'll
be
happy
to
help
all
right,
we'll
turn
it
over
to
sarah
for
question
and
answer
session.
E
G
G
Maybe
it's
from
cooking,
but
we
haven't
had
winter
yet,
so
I
think
it's
fascinating
and
it
remains
to
be
seen,
but
certainly
we'll
be
seeing
a
reduction
in
some
of
the
buildings
and
offices
that
are
not
in
use
right
now,
but
of
course,
factories
and
other
organizations
and
businesses
that
keep
our
community
running
are
still
operating.
You
know
essential
workers
and
that
type
of
thing
so
really
good
question.
B
Thanks,
sarah
I'll
I'll
start
that
one
off,
but
you
know
bill
touched
just
touched
on
some
of
that.
You
know
he
alluded
to
some
of
the
work.
The
plans
have
been
done
and
developed
by
dot.
The
xero
mission
vehicle
plan
is
a
big
one.
The
deq's
clean
energy
plan,
which
was
referenced
earlier
and
jason's
presentation,
is
a
good
one
and
the
continued
collaborative
work
that's
going
on
there.
B
It
is
a
big
push
and
just
continuing
to
work
on
risk
and
resiliency
actions
too,
and
adaptation
measures
there's
a
big
document
produced
by
our
our
team
at
deq
over
the
past
couple
months.
On
that
so-
and
I
I
shouldn't
I
shouldn't
forget
that
there's
also
a
great
science
document-
that's
been
released
and
done
in
a
collaborative
effort
with
universities
across
north
carolina
to
really
outline
and
provide
that
baseline
of
what
what's
our
climate
doing
currently
and
what
do
the
future
projections
look
like
and
what
outcomes
are
most
likely.
B
E
E
G
Oh,
that's
so
hard.
I
did
mention
that
attic
installation
is
one
of
the
most
cost
effective
things
that
you
can
do.
You
know.
R38
insulation
is
what's
building
code
right
now,
but
if
you
can
go
at
all
above
that
or
if
you
have
an
older
home
and
you
don't
have
sufficient
attic
insulation,
I
would
say:
that's
the
most
cost
effective
thing
to
do
other
than
that.
Look
at
your
behavior.
Are
you
keeping
your
thermostat
at
75
all
the
time
in
the
winter?
G
E
B
B
Last
year,
I
mentioned
it's,
the
50th
anniversary
of
the
1970
clean
air
act
and
without
doubt
you
know,
we
are
seeing
the
lowest
ambient
air
pollution
levels
that
have
been
recorded
since
the
inception
of
our
program
and
that
again,
that's
wonderful
news
testament
to
all
of
our
good
work
advancements
in
technology,
the
regulatory
non-regulatory
measures
you
know
so
north
carolinians
are
definitely
breathing
the
cleanest
air
that
they
have
in
their
any
time.
During
their
lifetimes.
C
C
C
So
what
we
learned
today
is
that
if
we
do
all
work
together
and
get
really
focused
on
something
that
we
can
be
very
successful,
we
we've
we've
really
got
a
tremendous
environmental
success
story
here
in
western
north
carolina
across
the
state.
A
lot
of
effort
has
gone
into
addressing
air
pollution
over
the
last
20
years
and
it's
been
quite
successful,
so
good
work
to
everyone
again.
I
want
to
thank
everybody
for
being
here
today
and
have
a
great
weekend
and
a
spooky
halloween
thanks
for
being
here.