A bill that has passed the N.C. Senate and is currently slated for debate by House legislators, calls for the closure of all air monitoring stations not required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
HB 765‘s stated intent is “to provide regulatory relief ” and its text requires that, “The Department of Environment and Natural Resources…review its ambient air monitoring network…[and] request the removal of any ambient air monitors not required by applicable federal laws and regulations.” The bill goes on to state that NCDENR should remove all ambient air monitors not required by federal laws and regulations by Sept. 1, 2016.
Ambient air is defined by the EPA as the “portion of the atmosphere, external to buildings, to which the general public has access,” and essentially the air the public breaths. The EPA begin monitoring common pollutants of ambient air in the early 1970s, establishing standards known as the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Ambient monitoring sites currently collect data on ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide,sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and lead.
More information on HB 765 is below.
From Public News Service
Staff reports
H.B. 765 began as a gravel transportation bill, but now encompasses a variety of statewide issues, including measures some say would threaten air quality.
Terry Lansdell, program coordinator with Clean Air Carolina, says pollution standards, regulations and monitoring are all on the chopping block.
“There’s been a systematic reduction in air quality monitors across the state, which we need to stop,” he says. “If we don’t have monitors, we don’t really know how clean or how dirty our air is. Removing these monitors has been kind of the task for a specific group within the general assembly over the past couple years.”
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