Georgia Basin - Puget SoundInternational Airshed Strategy
Doug Brown WA Dept of Ecology
September 23, 2009
• Significant ozone levels (esp. summertime ozone highs)
• Concern about health effects of (esp.) PM
• Significantly growing population and economy
• Degraded visibility & implications for tourism/ quality of life
• Strong public concern re. threats to air quality
Key AQ issues in GB/PS
Photo courtesy of Port of Seattle
• Area sources (e.g. home heating) increasingly important •Outdoor burning (esp. rural)
• Increased fuel prices• shift towards “green” behavior (smaller vehicles, car pooling, etc.) or …• shift to cheaper (dirtier) fuels ?
• New science about pollutant impacts at previously “safe” levels
• Urban densification or increasing sprawl ?
• Increasing global inputs to our region (e.g. long-range Hg)
• Climate Change (GHG & Adaptation)
Emerging AQ issues in GB-PS
•PM Annex negotiations in progress under the US-Canada Air Quality Agreement•Possible West Coast chapter to focus on Visibility
•PM 2.5 Non-Attainment designation in Tacoma area•Residential wood smoke •Vehicle emissions
• Ozone levels in Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) exceeding or near Canada-Wide Standards for Ozone
•Ozone levels in Puget Sound region nearing new EPA standards
•Residential Heating• Wood Stove replacement programs
•Diesel Retrofit Programs ongoing
Emerging AQ issues in GB-PSAddressing Visibility, Particulate Matter and Ozone
Emerging AQ issues in GB-PSNew Science
• Reduce risk to human health & ecosystems from AQ
• Improve visibility/Reduce Particulate Matter in airshed
• Decrease GHG in airshed
Goals of the IAS
• 1991 U.S.-Canada Air Quality Agreement
• 1992 BC-WA Environmental Cooperation Agreement
• 1994 WA-BC-GVRD-NWCAA Interagency Agreement
• 2000 Statement of Cooperation on GB-PS Ecosystem
• 2001 1st meeting what would become GB-PS IAS
• 2002 Statement of Intent on GB-PS IAS
• 2003 U.S.-Canada Border Air Quality Strategy
• 2005 IAS document finalized/ ratified
• 2006 PM Annex discussions begin
History / context of IAS Process (GB-PS transb. cooperation)
9
United States
• EPA (r10)
• WA Dept. of Ecology
• WA Dept. of Health
• Regional AQ Agencies• PSCAA• NWCAA• ORCAA
• Tribes
• National Park Service
• Whatcom County Cons. Society
Canada
• Environment Canada (PYR)
• BC Min. of Environment
• Regional Agencies• Metro Vancouver. (formerly the
Greater Vanc. Regional Dist.)
• Fraser Valley Regional District
• First Nations
• Health Canada
Members of the IAS Coordinating Committee
AgricultureScience
Review of New
SourcesClean
Vehicles & Fuels
Residential Wood
Heating
Marine & Ports
Structure of IAS Coordinating Committee & work groups
IAS CCmembers
IAS CCsecretariat(EC/ EPA)
Climate Change
Northwest Air Quality Communicators
Rebecca FreedmanLaura Curley
Benefit
Effort
Reporting out/ Share information(e.g. presenting new info
at IAS meetings)
Identify priorities/ gaps & decide on action
(e.g. identify emerging trends, support transboundary approach to
address marine/ port emissions)
Coordinate efforts(e.g. on-road diesel emission reductions)
Cooperate(e.g. transboundary emission reductions)
Collaborate(e.g. improved transboundary
A/S management)
Enhance inter-agency
relationships (e.g. strengthen existing/
develop new)
Core activities of GB-PS IAS
Research and recommendations
• Core function of scientists and policy experts• Focus = development of new information and path forward
• Such committees can be dissolved after issuing recommendations• e.g. Airshed Characterization, modelling; Analysis of T/boundary AQ management models
Governance
• Core function of executives/ key managers• Focus
• Allows decision-making/ direction for multi-agency relevant issues• To reach agreement on priorities and path forward
•e.g. decision to pursue marine vessel/ port emissions in transboundary context
Info sharing/ Coordination
• Core function of agency representatives, workgroup leads and invited guests• Focus =
• Discussion of new developments/ priorities, • review of projects that cut across organizational boundaries,
• consideration emerging trends and future options, etc. • May require small, more efficient sub-committees for specific themes/ issues/ tasks
• e.g. Darrington wood smoke efforts, diesel retrofit efforts (in WA, BC)
Core functions of the Coordinating Committee (GB-PS IAS)
Sharing/ Coordination
(result = information)
Research and analysis
(result = recommendations
)
Governance
(result = decision)
Collaboration/ Cooperation
• Core function of work groups• Focus = To coordinate effort towards results (projects) of mutual interest
• e.g. LFV EI (in GVRD, FVRD, Whatcom Co), BAQS health studies
Collaboration/ Cooperation
(result = action)
• Improved dialogue & trust between agencies
• Increased inter-agency resource leveraging (staff support and financial)
• Improved management of significant issues with overlapping implications
• Completion of projects to address AQ management and emission reductions
Results of the IAS Coordinating Committee
Inter-agency IAS Agricultural wind tunnel project to reduce nearby PM increases (Abbotsford)
Diesel emission retrofit project to address on-road emissions (Lower Fraser Valley)
• Completion of projects to address AQ mgt and emission reductions
– Clean vehicles & fuels• diesel emission reduction programs – info-sharing & parallel projects
– EA/ major project notifications• review of project procedures in GB-PS & gap analysis
– Marine• early identification of significant transboundary AQ issues, influence of West Coast Collaborative & implementation
– Communication/ outreach• Dev’t of coordinated message products for agency partners; transboundary polling of GB-PS residents re AQ
values
– Science• GB-PS Airshed Characterization; prelim. assessment of deposition issues in GB-PS; identification/ gap analysis of
visibility science/ monitoring in GB-PS
– Wood smoke• info-sharing re. BMPs to reduce emissions (technical, programs, community/ outreach)
– Agriculture• identification of BMPs to reduce emissions; engagement w industry partners on clean air issues;
Results of the IAS Coordinating Committee
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