Puget Sound Clean Air Agency
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CLEAN AIR NEWSLINE

March 2007 Edition

In this issue:

 

Planning choices affect health, air quality and climate

Unattractive sprawl or compact, well-designed communities?  Parking lots or play grounds?  Congested streets or thoroughfares shared by pedestrians, bicyclists and automobiles?

The land use and planning choices local governments make affect where people live, the types of homes they live in, how far they travel, and whether they drive alone or travel with others.

These choices impact public health, air quality and global climate.

However, air quality and climate impacts are just two things on a long list of considerations for land use planning, so the Clean Air Agency wants to help decision makers keep them in the forefront with clean air policies for growth management recently adopted by our Board of Directors.  You may view these at www.pscleanair.org/actions/landuse/2007_growth_mgmt_policies.pdf .

These policies provide guidance for agency staff, community planners, elected officials and other decision makers.  They focus on air- and climate-friendly development, discouraging wood burning in dense developments, reducing exposure to air toxics and pollution, environmental justice, and using environmental laws to better protect public health and air quality.

For further information or assistance, please contact Paul Carr at paulc@pscleanair.org or 206.689.4085.

 

Cleaner fuels = Cleaner air
Shipping lines make the switch to help keep port air clean

Two major shipping lines that carry goods to and from Puget Sound ports announced this month that they will start using cleaner-burning low-sulfur fuel while at dock. APL and "K" Line, two of the world's largest cargo companies, are voluntarily making the switch and will now use 0.5 percent sulfur fuel while in port, instead of heavy bunker fuel, which averages 2.7 percent sulfur content internationally.

Most cargo freighters run off diesel-powered generators even while at dock. Diesel engines are a significant source of fine particle pollution, as well as a combination of more than 40 substances that are listed as hazardous pollutants. They also emit sulfur oxides and smog-causing oxides of nitrogen, which aggravate respiratory and cardiac systems and contribute to acid rain.

Using fuel with substantially lower sulfur content will result in significantly less pollution. The Clean Air Agency estimates this cleaner fuel will reduce a ship's emissions of both sulfur oxides and diesel particulate matter by more than 80 percent.

The Clean Air Agency applauds APL and "K" Line for their leadership and environmental stewardship. These actions, together with those of other maritime partners, will help our region continue to create new economic opportunities while at the same time growing sustainably and protecting the health of its people and environment.

For more information, read how our Diesel Solutions program is working with the maritime community to reduce diesel emissions at www.pscleanair.org/programs/dieselsolutions/marine.aspx .

 

The scoop on yard-waste burning

What do citizens need to know about outdoor burning rules? Is it OK to burn? How else do you get rid of your yard debris?

These and other outdoor burning issues were discussed in a recently filmed segment of the "Sheriff's Report," – a Pierce County monthly cable TV show. In a dialog between the show's host and Clean Air Agency spokesman Mike Schultz, three messages were emphasized:

  • Breathing smoke from burning yard debris is unhealthy,
  • Outdoor burning of yard debris is banned in all urban areas, and
  • It's important to call your fire department to find out about permits and outdoor burning rules where burning is allowed.

This outdoor burning segment will be shown daily in the April edition of the "Sheriff's Report" on Comcast channel 76 in Pierce County.

A closely related ad campaign emphasizing children's health, including a 30-second video, can be viewed at www.airwatchnorthwest.org/outdoorburning.htm .

For more information on alternatives to outdoor burning, see the Clean Air Agency's Web site at www.pscleanair.org/actions/outdoorfires/alternatives.aspx .

 

Breathe easier while mowing your yard this spring

What better way to welcome spring than to recycle your old gas-powered lawnmower and get discounts on zero-emission push and electric mulching mowers.

The wildly successful Northwest Natural Yard Days is back again this year.  It takes place from April 15th to May 15th with retailers throughout the Puget Sound area offering discounts on natural yard-care products and rebates and discounts on air-friendly mowers.  Visit www.yarddays.com for full details. 

Seattle residents can recycle their old gas mower for free at the North or South Recycling & Disposal Station.  And from April 14 to May 15, they'll get a $25 coupon towards a push mower or an electric mulch mower. Other King County lawn-mower recycling options can be found at www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/naturalyardcare/mower.asp . 

Tacomans can dispose of their gas mower free of charge from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on April 28th and 29th at the Recycling Center located at the Tacoma Landfill, 3510 S. Mullen St.  For other Pierce County options, visit www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/services/home/environ/waste/recycle/recyclingdirectory/Metals.htm . 

For Kitsap County, visit www.kitsapgov.com/sw/recycle.asp .  And for Snohomish County's recycling locations, visit www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Public_Works/Divisions/SolidWaste/Facilities/ .

And to get more information about what yard care has to do with protecting our air quality and climate, check out our Web site at www.pscleanair.org/actions/yardcare .

 

Celebrating Earth Day in many ways Earth Day 2007: A call for action on climate change

This year's theme for Earth Day, April 22, is "A call for action on climate change" and as in years past, there are many activities planned around our region to help you get involved.

You can join Clean Air Agency staff at Lake Forest Park's "Dig It! Earth Smart Fair" on Saturday, April 21st, from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.  Its focus is on what you can do to reduce your carbon emissions that contribute to global warming and will feature informative exhibits and workshops, green gardening tips and activities for kids.  The event will be held at the Lake Forest Park Town Center Mall.

For clean-air actions you can take to help keep the air clean and protect our climate on Earth Day and every day, consider:

To find out more about the Clean Air Agency's Climate Protection efforts, click to www.pscleanair.org/programs/climate/default.aspx .

 

Monthly air quality data summary: January*

As with December, January had many days with stagnant weather and elevated levels of air pollution.  For the month, there were only 10 days with air quality categorized as "Good," 10 days in the "Moderate" category, seven days in the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" and four days in the "Unhealthy" categories. Those poor air-quality levels triggered two Stage 1 Burn Bans in January, each lasting three days.

January was half wet, half dry, with nearly all precipitation falling in the first half of the month.  Temperatures were mild early and late in the month but cold with snow mid month.
 
Average temperature for the month, as recorded at SeaTac was 38 degrees F, 2.9 degrees below normal.  Rainfall totaled 6.22 inches, 2.55 inches above normal.

For data summaries of air quality monitored throughout our four-county region, click to
www.pscleanair.org/airq/aqsumm/07-01.aspx .

* Because of the time it takes to review data for quality assurance and process data for reports, our air quality discussions in each “Newsline” edition will be two months previous.  Thus, our report for this edition is for January 2006.

 

Announcements

"Faster Freight -- Cleaner Air" coming to the Puget Sound region

This spring the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, along with the Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma, Washington State Department of Transportation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is hosting a "Faster Freight – Cleaner Air" conference for the Puget Sound region.

Focusing on goods movement and freight mobility issues, this one-day summit takes place on Wednesday, May 16, 2007, at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle.  More information on the event and how to register is available online at www.ffcapugetsound.com .

 

Permits open for comment
To see the current permits open for comment, visit www.pscleanair.org/announce/permits/openpermits.aspx .  All comments relevant to the proposed permit conditions will be considered. Instructions for submitting comments are included in the "public notice" posted with the permit application. 

To receive notice about permitting; proposed Orders of Approval, Regulatory Orders, Variances and Operating Permits; hearings on those actions; extensions of comment periods; and final actions; simply sign up or change your profile to receive e-mail notification at www.pscleanair.org/news/agencynews.aspx .

 

About the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

The mission of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is to ensure that people in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties have clean, healthy air to breathe. Our job is to provide air quality management services on behalf of cities and counties for their citizens. We do this by adopting and enforcing air quality regulations, sponsoring voluntary initiatives to improve air quality, and educating people and businesses about clean-air choices. To learn more about our work, visit us at www.pscleanair.org .

 

About the Clean Air Newsline

Clean Air Newsline is a monthly electronic newsletter to provide air quality information to the residents of King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Subscribers receive the latest on air quality news, trends and projects that affect our local communities and the air we breathe. Feel free to pass the information along to others.

We also use the Newsline as needed to send timely and important messages about burn bans, Smog Watches and early calls to action when air quality deteriorates.

If you would like to subscribe, you can do so at http://www.pscleanair.org/news/agencynews.aspx . Be sure to select Clean Air Newsline to be added to the e-mailing list.