ENSC 412612

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ENSC 412/612

• Week 11

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How to manage air quality

• Traditional methods include such as Command and
  Control by regulation and law. (e.g. EMA)
• Works well when sources can be identified and
  regulated, especially if they can be tied to a
  specific emitter who is a legal entity
• More difficult when there are multiple sources or
  the sources are poorly defined and quantified
• Increasingly management of these sources is being
  done by multi-stakeholder collaborative groups

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HOLISTIC AQ MANAGEMENT Multi-stakeholder
collaborative management

• Boundaries should be airshed based and work
  across administrative boundaries
• Recognize the dynamic nature of the airshed

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HOLISTIC AQ MANAGEMENT Multi-stakeholder
collaborative management

• Interagency cooperation
• Includes input from all stakeholders

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HOLISTIC AQ MANAGEMENT Multi-stakeholder
collaborative management

• Promote local action
• Based on best available science and monitoring

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Strengths / Weaknesses

• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the more
  holistic approaches?
• The local example

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PRINCE GEORGE

• Process
• Prince George Airshed Management Committee
• Background Report (1996)
• Consultation Period
• Prince George Air Quality Management Plan- Phase
  One (1998)
• http//www.pgairquality.com/files/pdf/PRAQMP-P1(19
  98).pdf

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Brief history leading up to the phase I plan

• Agreement reached between City, Regional District
  and MOE in December 1995 to coordinate air
  quality management in the Prince George Airshed,
  forming the Prince George Airshed Technical
  Management Committee
• Background report indicated fine particulates and
  total reduced sulphur air quality objectives were
  consistently exceeded in residential areas
• Public Consultation Period followed in early 1997
• With public input, the Prince George Air Quality
  Management Plan (Phase One) was prepared and
  approved in 1998
• 28 recommendations were made, including the
  formation of a multi-stakeholder group that would
  implement the plan

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Prince George Air Quality Committee Structure
PRINCE GEORGE AIR QUALITY STEERING COMMITTEE MOE
Regional Manager Regional District of
Fraser-Fort George City of Prince
George Industry Representative (Canfor) Northern
Health Authority

• PRINCE GEORGE AIR QUALITY IMPLEMENTATION
  COMMITTEE
• Ministry of Environment
• Ministry of Transportation
• Northern Health Authority
• City of Prince George
• Regional District of Fraser-Fort George
• Industry Representation-
• Canfor,
• CN Rail,
• Husky Oil,
• Wood Pellet Association of Canada,
• Carrier Lumber
• UNBC
• Prince George Chamber of Commerce
• Prince George and District Medical Society
• Non-Government Organizations (Fraser Basin
  Council and PACHA)
• Lheidli T'enneh
• Public Members

MONITORING WORKING GROUP Standing committee that
reports on status of monitoring
RESEARCH WORKING GROUPS Standing committee that
reports on a variety of research and health topics
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Guiding Principles Of The Phase I Plan

• Acceptable air quality is everyones right
  protecting air quality is everyones
  responsibility.
• Acceptable air quality is an important
  contributor to a healthy community and a
  sustainable economy.
• Achieving acceptable air quality requires that
  local, provincial and federal government agencies
  work together. Public and industry involvement is
  also necessary.

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Prince George

• Public Consultation 1997
• Public Open Houses
• Community Workshops (Medical and
• Health, Industrial, Environmental)
• Public Presentations at UNBC
• Formal Public Survey (Oster, 1997)

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Prince George

• Public Consultation 1998
• Draft AQMP distributed to all those who attended
  previous workshops/ open houses
• Consultation workshops
• Consultation report and recommendations by
  Workshop facilitator
• Final Draft AQMP

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Municipal Implementation

• The Prince George Air Quality Management Plan
  recommended that the City do the following
• The City eliminate all open burning on properties
  of less than 2.5 hectares

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Municipal Implementation

• The City promote the minimization of the use of
  inefficient woodburning appliances in the City

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Municipal Implementation

• The City prohibit the burning of wood in
  residential neighbourhoods and commercial areas
  during Air Quality Advisories, except where wood
  is the sole heating source

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Municipal Implementation

• The City require that any new or replacement
  woodburning appliance meets the standards in the
  B.C. Solid Fuel Burning Domestic Appliance
  Regulation

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Municipal Implementation

• The City establish guidelines and standards for
  all paved commercial and public parking lots to
  mitigate the release of fine dust from sanding
  and sweeping, and from storage and the disposal
  of the sweepings

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Municipal Implementation

• The City of Prince George Clean Air Bylaw
• This bylaw is an outdoor air quality bylaw and
  does not include indoor air quality issues such
  as smoking

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The City of Prince George Clean Air Bylaw

• Open burning- The Regulations
• Open burning is prohibited to take place within
  the area of the City delineated by the Open
  Burning Ban Boundaries in Schedule A attached
  to and forming part of this Bylaw.
•  

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The City of Prince George Clean Air Bylaw

• Open burning- The Regulations
•     
• No person shall open burn if an Air Quality
  Advisory has been issued. If an Air Quality
  Advisory is issued during open burning, the
  person shall take all reasonable steps to cease
  the open burning as soon as reasonably possible.
• Recreational fires are exempt from section
  3.1.1 of this Bylaw.

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The City of Prince George Clean Air Bylaw

• Woodburning- The Regulations
• No person shall use a woodburning appliance
  at any time when an air quality advisory has been
  issued and remains in effect.
•  
• Despite subsection 2.1.1, a person may use a
  woodburning appliance during an air quality
  advisory provided that person is a Sole
  Woodburning Heat User.

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The City of Prince George Clean Air Bylaw

• Sweeping- The Regulations
• No person shall undertake any sweeping of parking
  lots within the City except by the use of
  equipment using fugitive dust control procedures,
  including the use of water or other dust
  suppressing liquids, which must be applied to the
  paved areas prior to or during sweeping
  operations in amounts sufficient to minimize the
  generation of dust, or by using a dry vacuum
  streetsweeper.

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MUNICIPAL IMPLEMENTATION

• The Citys Dust Management Initiatives

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THE DOWNTOWN THE FOCUS OF DUST MANAGEMT
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Winter Abrasives

• In 1996, the City began to use winter crush
  which means 100 passing through 13mm and 100
  retained on the 1.18mm sieve (no silt product)
  with gt 60 fracture
• The fractured product stayed on the road longer
  and did not blow off to shoulder
• By request sanding in residential areas that
  are not on priority lists (bus routes)
• Reduced degradation of abrasive to dust

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Snow And Ice Control
Anti-Icing
Pre-Wetting

• Purpose To improve winter driving conditions
• Programs in partnership with ICBC - Dec 2000
• Prewetting is showing some early success with
  faster melting and improved abrasive function

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Streetsweeping

• 1999- Dust suppression with water
• 2001- Dust suppression with liquid salt in the
  downtown area and arterials, allowed for night
  sweeping during freezing temperatures
• 2002 and beyond vacuum sweeper for improved dust
  removal?? - Improved effectiveness

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Phase 1 Progress Highlights

• Burning was eliminated from local beehive burners
• The City banned all open burning on properties in
  the Bowl and all properties during and Air
  Quality Advisory
• The City and Regional District require that any
  new or replacement wood burning appliance meets
  the emission standards
• Reductions in pulpmill particulate emissions
  including the Canfor upgrade of Intercon power
  boiler, and lime kiln scrubber
• Hard surfacing of a portion of the Willowcale
  Forest Road within the Fraser River floodplain to
  reduce dust emissions

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PHASE II AQ Management Plan

• Seen as an interim plan, recognizing the need
  for better information
• Research Plan to include speciation modelling and
  dispersion modelling to prepare for Phase III
• Phase 2 plan completed with 30 recommendations in
  November 2006
• http//www.pgairquality.com/files/pdf/PRAQMP-P2(20
  06).pdf

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Municipal Implementation

• The City of Prince George Clean Air Bylaw, 2005

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Open burning / recreational burning

• No open burning in built-up part of city, except
  for recreational fires
• No recreational fires during AQ advisories
• No open burning or rec fires if they cause injury
  or unreasonably interfere with enjoyment of life
  or property
• No burning of garbage or noxious material

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Woodburning appliances

• No woodburning appliances during AQ advisories
  unless no other heat source
• No woodburning appliance use if it causes injury
  or damage to health, plants, or property or it
  unreasonably interferes with enjoyment of
  life/property
• All installations must meet Canadian and US
  emission standards
• No burning garbage or noxious material

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Dust

• No road or parking lot sweeping without dust
  control procedures or suppression liquids
• No sweeping if it causes injury or unreasonable
  loss of enjoyment of life/property
• No sweeping during AQ advisories unless approved
• Parking/storage/construction areas maintained to
  limit dust escape so that it does not cause
  injury or damage or unreasonably interfere with
  enjoyment of life or property

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Past, Present And FuturePrograms

• Partners for Climate Protection (Climate Change)
• Vehicle Idling Program for fleets (City, UNBC,
  Canfor, MOE, Northern Health, Regional District)
• Commuter Challenge
• Burn-it Smart workshops
• Woodstove Exchange Programs
• Mobile Emission Testing Clinic
• Biodiesel in fleet vehicles
• Anti-idling campaign

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Mayors Task Force on Air Quality Improvement

• Established to independently examine the progress
  being made to improve air quality in Prince
  George
• Three phase process including a review of past
  activities, public consultation, interim report,
  a feedback period and final recommendation report
• http//www.pgairquality.com/files/pdf/Air_Quality_
  TF_Final_report.pdf

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AQTF

• Made 40 recommendations on
• AQ governance and mgmt
• Regulatory tools
• Education and public awareness
• Land use and development
• Industrial air pollution emissions
• AQ monitoring
• Research
• Emerging issues
• Most of which have been implemented or are being
  implemented

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Interim Report October 29, 2007

• Joan Chess, Peter Jackson, Gina Layte Liston,
  Lorna Medd, Melanie Noullett

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Mayors Task Force on Air Quality Improvement

• announced in January 2006 by Mayor Kinsley
• began activities in January 2007 after Howard
  Brunt became Chair
• purpose
• review what PG has done on AQ with respect to
  best practices
• identify factors that have constrained or enabled
  improvement in AQ
• recommend ways to improve AQ monitoring,
  practices and research

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Methods

• TF decided not to duplicate current AQ management
  efforts but would
• look at broader, over-arching issues and develop
  pragmatic recommendations
• divided work into two stages
• Stage I Information gathering and presentation
  of interim findings
• Stage II Consultation and final report

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Stage I information gathering and presentation
of interim findings

• During winter and spring 2007
• commissioned two studies
• Best Practices in Air Quality Management
• Best Practices in Air Quality Control for Pulp
  Mills, Sawmills and Oil Refineries
• met as a group and with stakeholder and public
  groups to seek information
• result is Interim Report, available at
  http//www.city.pg.bc.ca/pages/maqtaskforce/ or
  hard copy from City Hall

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Results

• AQ is a problem here affecting health and economy
• PM the main issue, with levels among the highest
  in BC and often non-attainment of the Canada Wide
  Standard for PM2.5
• PM from multiple sources including industry,
  woodburning, transportation, dust, making it a
  challenge to manage effectively
• odour (TRS) from industry a secondary issue, but
  still important for quality of life and perception

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Key Interim Recommendations - 1

• fund an AQ Coordinator a go to person with a
  dedicated mandate to facilitate AQ mgmt processes
  and coordinate education and outreach
• assess results of current research and use to
  guide Phase III of the AQ Mgmt Plan
• set targets and timelines to reduce industrial
  emissions impacting AQ 40 by 2016
• new sources not allowed until existing sources
  lowered sufficiently Best Available Control
  Technology on any new sources

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Key Interim Recommendations 2

• align approval process of city and province so
  city does not approve development until all
  provincial permits and approvals are complete
• assess AQ impacts of emerging issues
• Intermodal, airport expansion, biomass burning,
  etc.
• assess AQ impacts of heavy industry land use
  study
• UBCM review and recommend how local govt
  authority and tools can be amended to deal with AQ

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Key Interim Recommendations 3

• review effectiveness of AQ bylaw enforcement
• begin episode management
• incentives to replace old wood burning appliances
  with low emission appliances
• PGAQIC to
• hold regular meetings with council and RD board
• produce an annual report and hold a public AGM
• review AQ committee structure in terms of
  effectiveness and transparency
• revise plans to include measurable outcomes and
  timelines
• Add an Education and Awareness Working Group

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Stage II consultation final report

• this is an Interim report, consultation and
  feedback is essential to finalize it
• input is sought from Council, public,
  stakeholders on the interim report
• What did we get right?
• What did we get wrong?
• What did we miss?
• feedback by November 16, 2007 in the following
  ways

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How to provide input

• Facilitated Public Consultation Monday November
  5, 7 pm Civic Center
• Public Drop-in session Saturday Nov 3 10-4, Bob
  Harkins Public Library
• Facilitated stakeholder consultation
• written feedback to City Hall or email to
  airqualitytaskforce_at_city.pg.bc.ca (or form on
  webpage)
• goal is to finalize report and present to Council
  within the next couple of months
• Send feedback by November 16

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Final Report January 21, 2008

• Joan Chess, Peter Jackson, Gina Layte Liston,
  Lorna Medd, Melanie Noullett

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Mayors Task Force on Air Quality Improvement

• announced in January 2006 by Mayor Kinsley
• began activities in January 2007 purpose
• review what PG has done on AQ with respect to
  best practices
• identify factors that have constrained or enabled
  improvement in AQ
• recommend ways to improve AQ monitoring,
  practices and research

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Methods

• TF decided not to duplicate current AQ management
  efforts but would
• look at broader, over-arching issues and develop
  pragmatic recommendations
• divided work into two stages
• Stage I Initial information gathering and
  presentation of Interim Report to council October
  29, 2007 and to RDFFG Board November 15, 2007
• Stage II Consultation and final report

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Stage II consultation final report

• presentation of Interim report was followed by
  consultation process
• public drop-in session Nov 3 Bob Harkins Public
  Library (30 participants)
• facilitated public consultation Nov 5 (55
  participants)
• facilitated stakeholder consultation Nov 6 (33
  participants)
• written submissions (25 submissions)

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Consultation highlights

• appendix C (95 pages) documents feedback
• support for most of the Interim report
• a high level of concern in PG about AQ
• helpful and thoughtful feedback with new ideas
  incorporated in final report
• we make recommendations more specific, identify
  responsible agencies and suggest timelines

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Results

• AQ is a problem here affecting health and economy
• PM the main issue, with levels among the highest
  in BC and often non-attainment of the Canada Wide
  Standard for PM2.5
• PM from multiple sources including industry,
  woodburning, transportation, dust, making it a
  challenge to manage effectively therefore a
  collaborative approach is needed
• odour (TRS) from industry an issue important for
  quality of life and perception
• key recommendations follow (grouped by
  responsible agency)

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1. City

• Council should consider AQ improvement as a top
  priority
• work with agencies to develop an action plan and
  timelines to implement recommendations Mar 2008
• work with agencies to provide ongoing funding for
  AQ planning, mgmt, education and research,
  including AQ coordinator position Mar May
  2008
• incorporate recommendations from phase II of the
  AQ Mgmt Plan into Clean Air Bylaw May Sep
  2008

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2. City

• Clean Air Bylaw
• review effectiveness of enforcement Sep 2008
• hire additional Bylaw Enforcement Officer Apr
  2008
• incorporate fines Feb 2008
• provide matching incentives to replace
  woodburning appliances as part of an ongoing
  program Sep 2008
• work with agencies to establish an Open and
  Controlled Burning Committee Mar 2008

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3. City

• work with MoE to develop an integrated approval
  process so that City approvals are issued after
  Provincial approvals are in place Jun 2008
• work with RDFFG and MoE to determine effects of
  potential emissions from new areas considered in
  heavy industry land use study 2008
• retain legal counsel to review provincial
  legislation and recommend to Province how local
  govt can better deal with AQ Mar 2008
• revise economic development strategy to pursue
  activities that do not harm AQ Oct 2008

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4. City

• encourage business not regulated by the MoE to
  understand their emissions, best practices, and
  plan to lower emissions with a short
  questionnaire on business license application or
  renewal 2009
• work with local industry to explore use of
  eco-industrial principles to reduce emissions
  Dec 2008
• work with province and federal govts and CN to
  assess ways of regulating emissions from railways
  begin Nov 2008
• assess impacts on AQ of emerging issues and
  future developments as part of a comprehensive
  planning approach begin 2008

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5. PGAQIC

• replace current AQ committee structure with a
  single roundtable with three working groups
  (monitoring, research, education) Sep 2008
• hire a coordinator to facilitate AQ mgmt and
  coordinate education and outreach Mar 2008
  sort out funding formula May 2008 hire
• produce annual report to public, council, RD
  board, and hold an annual public AQ forum 2008
• make quarterly presentations to council, RD
  2008
• Invite councilors and RD directors to 2 meetings
  / year 2008

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6. PGAQIC

• include measurable outcomes / timelines in mgmt
  plans 2008
• with City, MoE and industry develop wood burning
  appliance replacement program spring 2008
• with MOE work to include other significant
  polluters in Monitoring Working Group Dec 2008
• with Education Working Group organize outreach,
  education and awareness programs start summer
  2008
• with Research Working Group assess results of
  current studies to guide phase III AQ Mgmt plan
  2008-2009
• With Monitoring Working Group pursue adding a
  mobile monitoring unit Jan 2009

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7. BC Ministry of Environment

• enact the area-based management provisions of the
  Environmental Management Act 2008
• set targets and timelines to reduce industrial
  emissions impacting AQ 40 by 2016 Jan 2009
• review air pollution permits to lower allowed
  emissions start 2008
• with City and RD ensure that new sources
  impacting AQ are not allowed until existing
  sources lowered to allow for continuous
  improvement. Best Available Control Technology on
  new sources immediately

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8. BC Ministry of Environment

• begin episode management 2008-2009
• work with PGAQIC and City to explore a zero net
  cost Air Care program 2009
• make current and time series of AQ levels
  available in real-time Mar 2008
• produce annual AQ reports more promptly catch up
  in 2008
• encourage submission of continuous stack
  monitoring data

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Questions?

• We would like to thank
• Mayor Kinsley and Council for this opportunity
• City Staff for their support
• Stakeholders and members of the public for their
  input and participation in the process

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PGAIR Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable

• Created following a suggestion in the AQTF report
  to consider collapsing the hierarchical structure
  into a round table structure

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Peoples Action Committee forHealthy Air (PACHA)

• Watchdog society dealing with air quality issues
  in the Prince George airshed
• Primary Goals
• Effect improvement in air quality in the airshed
  of Prince George and its adjacent regions through
  advocacy, education, and research.
• Promote understanding among the various
  stakeholders about the environmental and economic
  impacts of activities and policies regarding the
  air quality within the airshed as well as on the
  periphery affected by such activities and
  policies.
• http//www.pachapg.ca/ - next week

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• Strategies for PM2.5 mgmt phase III
• What would you recommend?
• (Based on analysis of Plaza 400 ambient PM2.5
  data. Episode control assumes that no 24 rolling
  averages can exceed 25 ug m-3. A 40 reduction
  means that the ambient levels above an assumed
  background level of 2 ug m-3 are reduced by 40.)

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The End!