Bearwallow Mountain view

Green in brief: WNC shows air quality improvemen­t, AG Stein awards $340K to area environmen­tal work

According to a new study by Filterbuy, an air filter industry website, the median air quality index in the Asheville metropolitan area was 15.3% better over the period from 2015-2019 compared with the period from 2005-2009. The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton and Greenville, S.C., metros also showed big improvements.

Cars on highway

Three WNC counties to be removed from vehicle emissions program

As of Saturday, Dec. 1, vehicle owners in Haywood, Henderson and Rutherford counties will no longer have to submit their cars and light-duty trucks to an annual emissions inspection. Inspections remain in place for Buncombe and 21 additional counties, while the three other counties bordering Buncombe — Madison, McDowell and Yancey — have never required them.

CTS clean-up moves forward as community wrestles with torrid past

Cleanup efforts are finally beginning at the CTS of Asheville Superfund site on Mills Gap Road, but past controversies and a lack of trust in Environmental Protection Agency officials continued to dominate the discussion during a Nov. 30 public meeting to review the impending remedial projects and address residents’ concerns.

Air apparent: monitoring air quality in the mountains

We all have to breathe to live, and the good news is that here in Western North Carolina, the quality of the air we all share is much better than it was just a few years ago. Across North Carolina, government employees are monitoring air quality and the associated health risks to make sure they stay within specified legal parameters. Meanwhile, citizen volunteers are also collecting data and working to make more information available to the public.

UPDATE: Asheville City Council asks local agency to toughen SO2 standard on Duke Energy plant

At tonight’s meeting, April 28, Asheville City Council members may agree to ask the local air agency to “strengthen” proposed limits on sulphur dioxide emissions at Duke Energy’s local power plant. The move comes ahead of a Wednesday, April 29, public hearing that the Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency will hold to consider renewing the air permit for the Duke Energy plant.

New study cites increased sulphur dioxide emissions at Duke’s Asheville plant

Beyond Coal and the Sierra Club released a study today, Feb. 19, indicating that Duke Energy’s Asheville plant may be exceeding federally regulated levels of sulphur dioxide, a toxin that aggravates asthma and causes other health problems. “Somewhere in the Asheville area, that [federal] standard is being exceeded about once every three to four days,” said Howard Gebhart of Air […]

Asheville press conference­: Power-plant carbon rules will promote better health

Clean Air Carolina and its MAHA initiative (Medical Advocates for Healthy Air) held an Asheville press conference Wednesday. Sept. 17, to  highlight President Obama’s latest proposal to limit carbon pollution from the nation’s power plants — and the positive health impacts of the plan. Power plants are responsible for 52 percent of North Carolina’s carbon pollution. “Climate change […]