Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Monday, December 2, 2013
EPA Approves Redesignation of Atlanta Area to Attainment for Ozone
EPA Press Release:
For Immediate Release:
December 2, 2013 EPA Approves Redesignation of Atlanta Area to Attainment for Ozone
Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov
ATLANTA – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is taking final action to approve the state of Georgia’s request to redesignate the Atlanta area to attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. This action is based on air quality monitoring data for the three-year period of 2008, 2009, and 2010 that meets the standard. The area continues to attain this standard.
“This is a great accomplishment for the Atlanta area, a product of strong collaboration among government, the business community, environmental organizations and ordinary citizens." said Acting EPA Regional Administrator Stan Meiburg. "Together with our partners at the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, we look forward to continued progress in improving Atlanta's air quality."
The Atlanta area has made significant progress in improving air quality. This progress is a result of hard work and great cooperation among local, state and federal agencies, private partners and the over four million Georgians who live and work in the Atlanta area. The Atlanta area impacted by this proposed action includes the following 20 counties: Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding and Walton.
“All of metropolitan Atlanta can be proud of this major accomplishment. Everyone should be applauded, from citizens who keep their vehicles in good running condition to industries and power plants that have invested in improved emission controls,” said Judson H. Turner, Director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. “It has taken many years, but the results are cleaner air and a healthier place to live and work.”
Ground level or "bad" ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of NOx and VOC. Breathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion. It can worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. Ground level ozone also can reduce lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs. Repeated exposure may permanently scar lung tissue.
For more information on the Atlanta area proposed 1997 8-hour ozone redesignation, visit docket number EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0986 at www.regulations.gov.
Connect with EPA Region 4 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion4
And on Twitter: @USEPASoutheast
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EPA Approves Redesignation of Charlotte Area to Attainment for Ozone
EPA Press Release:
EPA Approves Redesignation of Charlotte Area to Attainment for Ozone
For Immediate Release:
December 2, 2013
December 2, 2013
EPA Approves Redesignation of Charlotte Area to Attainment for Ozone
Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov
ATLANTA – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is taking final action to approve the state of North Carolina’s request to redesignate the Charlotte area to attainment of the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. This action is based on air quality monitoring data for the three-year period of 2008, 2009, and 2010 that meets the standard. The area continues to attain this standard. On December 26, 2012, EPA took final action on the South Carolina portion of the Charlotte Area.
“We commend the hard work of state and local officials to implement the control measures needed to reduce ozone pollution and improve Charlotte’s air quality,” said Acting EPA Regional Administrator Stan Meiburg. “We will continue to work with state and local agencies to improve air quality and protect public health.”
The Charlotte area has made significant progress in improving air quality. This progress is a result of hard work and great cooperation among local, state and federal agencies, private partners and the over two million North Carolinians who live and work in the Charlotte area. The Charlotte area impacted by this action includes the following 6 full counties and 1 partial county: Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Union and a portion of Iredell.
“The redesignation of the Charlotte area represents a successful collaboration of all levels of government, business and industry partners, and the citizens of the region,” said N.C. Governor Pat McCrory, who worked on the issue extensively as mayor of Charlotte from 1995-2009. “It is a big step for economic development in the region and, more importantly, it means that all who live in and near Charlotte are breathing cleaner air.”
Ground level or "bad" ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of NOx and VOC. Breathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion. It can worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. Ground level ozone also can reduce lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs. Repeated exposure may permanently scar lung tissue.
For more information on the Charlotte area proposed 1997 8-hour ozone redesignation, visit docket number EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0986 at www.regulations.gov.
Connect with EPA Region 4 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion4
And on Twitter: @USEPASoutheast
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Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Works to Conserve Fishers, Civil War History
USDA Blog Post:
U.S. Forest Service biologist Betsy Howell is highlighted in Faces of the Forest, a special feature by the agency. (Courtesy Betsy Howell)
Betsy Howell has a professional and personal interest in conserving two diverse parts of U.S. history.
As a wildlife biologist on the Olympic National Forest in Washington State she focuses part of her work on the history and future of the fisher, a member of the weasel family considered threatened and endangered.
As a Civil War re-enactor and author, she works to preserve an integral part of our history as a nation.
“As a district biologist, I survey for different wildlife species including bald eagles, amphibians, fishers and martens,” she said. “I’m fortunate that a fair bit of my job involves field work, and I continue to be involved in remote camera survey work though the technology has changed tremendously since 1991.”
One of her most important projects is with the Olympic Peninsula Fisher Reintroduction Project, a multi-agency effort to reintroduce the fisher, a small member of the mustelid, or weasel, family.
“The work began after researchers had determined that fishers had become extirpated, that is locally extinct, on the peninsula, due to over trapping and habitat removal,” Howell said. “Through the use of remote cameras, we are now monitoring to see if they have become a self-sustaining population. We’re also partnering with Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, a non-profit organization out of Bozeman, Mont., to determine if the Pacific marten, another mustelid, has also become extirpated from the peninsula.”
When not setting up remote cameras, Howell spends her spare time, usually before work and on weekends, writing essays on travel and natural history. She published a memoir about her father and great-great-grandfather and their lives as soldiers.
“My great-great-grandfather, James Heath, served as a private in the Union Army and kept journals during that time from 1862-1865,” she said. “My father, born in 1920, actually knew this man when he was a little boy and when he grew older was given James’ journals. Now they’re mine.”
The memoir became about their war experiences and how it impacted her life. But she found couldn’t leave the Civil War behind, so she started a novel.
“It has taken six years. Again, it’s hard to leave behind characters I’ve become so fond of, so now I’m working on a second novel told from the point of view of a minor character from the first novel,” she said.
Howell is one of a number of Forest Service employees highlighted in Faces of the Forest, a feature that introduces the public to the people, places and professions in the agency.
Betsy Howell started her career in 1986 as a spotted owl surveyor on the Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon. After graduation, she moved to the Siskiyou National Forest in Southwest Oregon and became a permanent employee. During her early career, Howell took a leave of absence to work for the Peace Corps. (FS photo)
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