<< Back 12/18/02 Air compact likely for new metro area Four counties, Asheville don’t want designation as ‘non-attainment’ area By Scott McLeod Readings from one ozone monitor at Bent Creek in Buncombe County are leading to new efforts to curb air pollution in Western North Carolina. The monitor shows that low-level ozone exceeds new federal 8-hour standards that were recently upheld by the Supreme Court. Now, local governments in the region who are expected to be grouped together in a new metropolitan statistical area are facing a decision about whether they should try and stave off what many are calling the negative implications of being designated a “non-attainment area.” This week Haywood County commissioners voted — somewhat reluctantly — to join the other mountain counties in an Early Action Compact. If the pact is approved — Haywood, Buncombe, Madison and the city of Asheville are in, and Henderson is still considering it — it will ward off the non-attainment designation expected by the EPA by April of 2004. Feverish action the last couple of weeks by local governments trying to decide how to react to the the region’s air-quality problems has occurred because the EPA set a Dec. 31 deadline for compacts to form. The Dec. 31 date anticipates an April 2003 deadline the state is under to provide the EPA with its list of non-attainment areas. The local governments in the new Census Bureau Metropolitian Statistical Area must all vote to join the compact. If one county or the city of Asheville backs out, the compact is nixed. Haywood County Manager Jack Horton thinks the compact is a good idea. “I definitely think it is to our benefit to get in this Early Action Compact,” Horton said at a Haywood council of governments meeting last week in Canton. “I think it is our best bet.” “It basically gives us some breathing room to improve our air quality,” he said. Commission Chairman Bill Noland agreed, saying if the county can avoid the non-attainment designation it was probably worth joining the compact. Paul Muller, the regional air quality supervisor for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, says the EPA is telling state officials that potential non-attainment areas will likely be better off joining a compact . “We keep hearing from EPA that if local governments sign now and join a compact, it will keep their options open,” Muller said during a meeting of Haywood County’s Council of Governments. By forming a compact, the negative implications of the EPA non-attainment designation will be be delayed until a review in December of 2007. Until that time, local governments can work together and separately to develop plans to improve air quality. Canton Mayor Pat Smathers, though, worries about joining any compact with Buncbome County. Haywood was part of the former WNC Regional Air Pollution Commission until last year, and it had to take legal action to retrieve money it was owed from Buncombe County. “I’m leaning toward supporting this (joining the compact) because I think it will help clean our air. But our hisotry of compacts with Buncombe County is not good, and I have some concerns,” said Smathers. Muller said that the towns, except Asheville, don’t necessarily have to join the compact for it to be approved. However, Horton said he thinks the symbolism of a united county sends a good message. “Then we send a message that we care about air quality. If some of the towns go against the compact, we send a message we don’t care,” said Horton. Muller also said that the development of a local plan to clean the air that committed each town and the county to using low-sulfur gasoline and taking other steps to improve air would provide a good signal to state and federal air quality officials. Also, the economies of scale might make it cheaper for each local government if they combined their purchasing power, said Muller. Regardless of how the compact turns out, Muller said state air monitoring models show the region will meet federal standards by 2007. New vehicle emission regulations, which include tailpipe testing in Haywood County when vehicles are inspected, the availability of low-sulfur gasoline, the requirements of the Clean Smokestacks Act, a modernization project at Blue Ridge Paper all point to the region meeting federal standards by 2007. “It’s not going to take a lot to get us back into compliance,” said Muller. The Bent Creek site is registering 85 parts per billion, and the federal standard is 80. Low-level sites in Haywood are meeting the standard. High-level monitoring sites are violating the standard, but Muller said the EPA recognizes that those readings are due to air transport from outside the region.