AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT
1001 East Ninth Street I P.O. Box 11130 I Reno, Nevada 89520
AQM Office: 775-784-7200 I Fax: 775-784-7225 I washoecounty.us/health Serving Reno, Sparks and all of Washoe County, Nevada. Washoe County is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
TO: District Board of Health
FROM: Charlene Albee, Director
775-784-7211, calbee@washoecounty.us
SUBJECT: Program Update, Divisional Update, Program Reports
_________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Program Update
a. Idle Free Schools wins Truckee Meadows Tomorrow Award
The District Board of Health previously recognized the efforts of students from the Washoe County School District promoting the Idle Free Program with the goal of reducing emissions from car and bus idling on school campuses. To date, twenty (20) Washoe County schools have voluntarily been designated as Idle Free Schools. The efforts of the students are now being recognized in the community. Truckee Meadows Tomorrow (TMT) is a volunteer organization that collaborates with business owners, community leaders, educators, policy-makers and active citizens across Washoe County to establish measurable indicators to monitor how the community is preserving and enhancing the quality of life. The Air Quality Management Division supports TMT through the adoption of the air quality indicator.
TMT sponsors an annual Take It Personally Contest to recognize citizens involvement in improving the quality of life in our community. This photo of the students from Reed High School was submitted to represent the Idle Free Schools partnership between Washoe County Health District AQMD, Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), GREENevada, WCSD Transportation Department and Safe Routes to School. TMT selected the photo as an award winner in recognition of the benefits of reducing engine idling on school campuses including making for cleaner air, healthier lungs for kids, and more money in people’s pockets.
The success of the Idle Free Program is also being recognized by the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees. At the request of Trustee Veronica Frenkel, the
Idle Free partners gave a presentation on the status and future goals of the program at the February 10th School Board meeting. The ultimate goal is to have the Idle Free Program adopted as a policy for all Washoe County schools. Turn your key and be Idle Free!
Charlene Albee, REM
a. Below are two charts detailing the latest air quality information for the month of January. The top chart indicates the highest AQI by pollutant and includes the highest AQI from the previous three years in the data table for comparison. The bottom chart indicates the number of days by AQI category and includes the previous year to date for comparison.
Please note AQI data are not fully verified and validated and should be considered preliminary. As such, they should not be used to formulate or support regulation, guidance, or any other governmental or public decision. For a daily depiction of the AQI data, please visit www.OurCleanAir.com for the most recent AQI Summary.
3. Program Reports
a. Planning & Monitoring
There were no exceedances of any National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) during the month of January.
The Know the Code totals for January were 19 Green, 7 Yellow, and 5 Red Burn Codes.
The public’s support of the Yellow and Red Codes prevented fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from exceeding the health based NAAQS. A 2014-15 Know the Code summary will be included in next month’s report.
Planning Staff participated in an American Planning Association (APA) “Safe Mobility Planning” webinar hosted by the Washoe County Planning and Development Division. The built environment strongly influences the health of our community. Staff is collaborating with local APA members to find opportunities to incorporate healthy solutions into local projects and policies.
AQMD and the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District (TMFPD) will be implementing a pilot program to extend the Spring residential open burning season. Per AQM Regulation 040.035, residential open burning is currently prohibited from November 1 through February 28/29. The pilot program will advance the end date of the prohibition from February 28/29 to February 14. Residential open burning will be allowed if weather conditions meet air quality and fire safety criteria. This pilot program only applies to areas in TMFPD’s jurisdiction and includes other specific requirements. Staff developed a form to be included with the TMFPD burn permit application to collect data during the pilot project. Data including the burn dates, location, and quantity of materials burned, will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot project. For more information on the pilot project burn period, contact the TMFPD or check their website at www.washoecounty.us/tmfpd .
Daniel K. Inouye
b. Permitting & Enforcement
Type of Permit
2015 2014
January YTD January
Annual Total Renewal of Existing Air
Permits 97 97 104 1328
New Authorities to Construct 8 8 6 133
Dust Control Permits 6
(58 acres) 6 (58 acres) 9 (118 acres) 114 (1172 acres)
Wood Stove Certificates 20 20 17 322
WS Dealers Affidavit of Sale 18
(13 replacements) 18 (13 replacements) 6 (5 replacements) 105 (80 replacements) WS Notice of Exemptions 356 (1 removed) 356 (1 removed) 570 (8 stoves removed) 7143 (63 stoves removed) Asbestos Assessments 79 79 65 862
Asbestos Demo and Removal
(NESHAP) 22 22 13 199
Staff reviewed twenty-eight (28) sets of plans submitted to the Reno, Sparks or Washoe County Building Departments to assure the activities complied with Air Quality
COMPLAINTS
2015 2014
January YTD January Annual Total
Asbestos 2 2 2 27
Burning 0 0 0 9
Construction Dust 5 5 2 53
Dust Control Permit 0 0 0 20
General Dust 5 5 2 52 Diesel Idling 0 0 0 3 Odor 4 4 2 16 Spray Painting 3 3 0 8 Permit to Operate 0 0 2 31 Woodstove 7 7 1 12 TOTAL 26 26 8 231
NOV’s January YTD January Annual
Total
Warnings 1 1 2 41
Citations 1 1 5 11
TOTAL 2 2 7 52
*Discrepancies in totals between monthly reports can occur due to data entry delays. • Inspection staff continues working with RTC, Aspen Development and various
asbestos abatement contractors to monitor and ensure continued compliance for the Pyramid Highway expansion project. The project will involve asbestos abatement in 63 homes currently owned by RTC.
Staff conducted fifty two (52) stationary source and fifty two (52) gas station inspections in January 2015. Staff also conducted inspections on asbestos removal and construction/dust projects.
