Ohio EPA Meeting about Cincinnati Air Quality Rating
2/19/16
PUBLIC INTEREST CENTER, (614) 644-2160
MEDIA CONTACT: Dina Pierce
CITIZEN CONTACT: Darla Peelle
Ohio EPA Meeting about Cincinnati Air Quality Rating
Ohio EPA will hold a public hearing to take comments on its plans to ask U.S. EPA to officially recognize that the Cincinnati area meets the federal air quality standard for ground-level ozone.
The hearing will be held on Thursday, March 3, 2016, at 3:30 p.m. at the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services, First Floor, 250 William Howard Taft Road, Cincinnati.
The proposed redesignation request covers Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Hamilton and Warren counties. It does not include the out-of-state part of the Cincinnati ozone region, which includes Dearborn County, Ind., and Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Kentucky. These states will prepare separate proposals to address their portion of the area.
Air quality data collected between 2012 and 2014 demonstrates the area is now meeting the eight-hour ozone standard. When asking for redesignation, states are required to demonstrate that the metropolitan area will be able to maintain compliance with the ozone standard for 10 years. Current air pollution controls to limit ozone-causing emissions will enable the area to maintain the air quality.
During the hearing, the public can submit oral or written comments on the proposed redesignation request and maintenance plan. Ohio EPA also will accept written comments through March 3, 2016. Anyone may submit written comments by writing to: Erica Fetty Davis or Jennifer Van Vlerah, Ohio EPA Division of Air Pollution Control, Lazarus Government Center, P.O. Box 1049, Columbus, OH 43216-1049; or emailing erica.fettydavis@epa.ohio.gov or jennifer.vanvlerah@epa.ohio.gov.
More information on the redesignation request is available online or by calling Ohio EPA’s Division of Air Pollution Control at (614) 644-2270.
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The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.
Ohio EPA Meeting about Cincinnati Air Quality Rating
Source: Ohio Environmental News