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