Meeting was held on Thursday, June 10th at Tyco Electronics and hosted by Charles Johnson.  Thank you for the use of your facility and hosting the meeting.

Guest Speaker: Hoy Bohanon, PE

R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Chair WSCC Environmental Issues Subcommittee

Early Action Compact and Nonattainment in the Triad: Early Action Compact

What are the benefits of an EAC? Air is cleaner sooner, provides more flexibility for local area to determine strategy for cleaning up its air, and local area may postpone or avoid effects of EPA designation of "non-attainment".

North Carolina EAC Areas: Triad, Fayetteville, Mountain, Unifour, and NC County.

What does nonattainment mean? Restricts industrial air permits, industrial expansion requires expensive "offsets", new equipment or expansion requires more costly air pollution controls, and affects transportation plans and improvements.

What’s next in 8 hour Ozone Nonattainment? On April 15th, 2004 Implementation Rule Phase I was issued, EAC deferral rule was part of rule, and Rule was published April 30th, 2004.

April 30 Rule: EPA designated entire CMSAs; State strongly recommended partial counties, effective date June 15th, 2004, classifications – marginal, moderate, serious, severe, and extreme, Subpart 1 or Subpart 2?, Triad – Subpart 2 moderate, LAER, offsets, NSR (CAA), and RACT, VOC, and Nox.

EAC Deferral: effective date for EAC areas that met compact milestones will be September 30, 2005, if area continues to meet milestones, then additional deferrals will be granted until December 31st, 2007 at which time milestone is attainment, and if milestones not reached, then area immediately goes into non-attainment.

Possible EAC litigation: although many environmental groups are participating as stakeholders in EACs, some oppose the process, and may be suit in Federal Court challenging the legality of EAC process.

What is EPA’s Policy? Any county with a violating PM2.5 monitor and nearby contributing areas need to be designated as non-attainment, EPA recommends the full Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or CMSA serve as the presumptive boundary for PM2.5 non-attainment areas, whole counties, and match 8 Hour Ozone Boundaries.

Factors to be Considered for Larger or Smaller than MSA: Emissions and AQ in Adjacent Areas, population density, monitoring data, location of emissions sources, traffic and commuting patterns, expected growth, meteorology. Geography/topography, jurisdictional boundaries, level of control of emission sources, and regional emission reductions

Recommendation: support Governor’s recommendations for non-attainment boundaries, governor should challenge EPA policy, policy for full MSA is arbitrary, and Division of Air Quality researched recommendation and justified boundaries

Next Steps: Encourage Governor to challenge EPA Policy and request for reconsideration must be filed with EPA before June 29th, 2004.

 

LEPC Meeting:

Treasurer Report – Bill Nieland

Web Page – Dorothy Vannoy

Education & Outreach Committee - Debbie Meurs

Guilford County Emergency Management – Ron Campbell

Citizens Core Committee – Jennie Hege

Greensboro Fire Dept – Warren Ritter

High Point Fire Dept – Barry Tilley

TERG – Barry Tilley

Regulatory Review – Alice Rimmer

By-Laws – Chuck Mortimore

Program Committee – Kirk Weil

Historical Committee – Kevin Cowan

Executive Committee – Clarice Garrett

Guilford County Fire Dept – Donald Rierson

Law Enforcement – no report

Greensboro Emergency Management – Marilyn Braun

Guilford County Health Dept – Cheryl Haigler

Board of County Commissioners – Mary Rakestraw

City Council – T. Diane Bellamy Small

Old Business – Clarice Garrett

New Business – Clarice Garrett

Guest Speaker – Toni Plummer from the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management – Hazard Mitigation Section Planning Dept.

Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000

Senate Bill 300

Access your Risk

For more information you can contact Toni Plummer at

Toni did provide a handout, if you would like a copy, please see someone that attended the June Meeting or Penny Partido.

Thanks and have a Safe and Happy 4th of July Weekend!!

Don’t forget – next LEPC Meeting will be at Dow Corning Corporation on July 8th at 9:00 a.m.