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Development of an Improvement Plan for Threatened Airsheds

Development of an Improvement Plan for Threatened Airsheds. Prepared for AQ Met’s Meeting March 10, 2003 Victoria, BC. Presentation Objectives. Impetus for plan Assumptions Service Plan Shifts Clean Air Goals Roles & Responsibilities 5-Year Plan – What do we want to achieve? Next Steps.

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Development of an Improvement Plan for Threatened Airsheds

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  1. Development of an Improvement Plan for Threatened Airsheds Prepared for AQ Met’s Meeting March 10, 2003 Victoria, BC

  2. Presentation Objectives • Impetus for plan • Assumptions • Service Plan Shifts • Clean Air Goals • Roles & Responsibilities • 5-Year Plan – What do we want to achieve? • Next Steps

  3. Impetus • Premier’s letter to Minister instructing Minister to develop improvement plan for threatened airshed areas • Ministry Service Plan identifies air improvement initiative as an immediate action for human health protection

  4. Assumption • Develop single plan that will address threatened airsheds and keeping clean areas clean

  5. Ministry’s Service Plan 2002/2003-2004/2005 • Strategic shifts to: • Shared stewardship (e.g. airshed planning) • Setting appropriate environmental standards and ensuring standards are met • Clear roles for ministry, industry and other stakeholders in gathering and reporting environmental information and achieving environmental objectives • Integrated ministry program based on best available science and an ecosystem-based approach • Economic development based on clear, reasonable environmental outcomes, with discretion as to how to achieve • Public information made available in transparent, timely and accessible manner

  6. Ministry’s Service PlanClean Air Goals • Protection of human health and environment • Current performance measures: • % of monitored communities meeting PM2.5 CWS of 30 mg/m3 • Total GHG emissions in BC • For 2005/06: • Achievement of PM2.5 CWS in all monitored communities

  7. Ministry’s Role Water, Air & Climate Change: • Long-term policy • Standards/objectives • Science • Monitoring & Reporting Regional Operations: • Implementation of Ministry policy • Permitting/compliance • Monitoring/Reporting • Airshed planning • AQ advisories

  8. Ministry’s Role Environmental Management Branch: • Legislation/regulations • Codes of practice • P2 planning • Local government activities Policy, Innovation and Enterprise Division: • Risk assessment • Strategic planning • Intergovernmental affairs • Non-regulatory incentives

  9. Cabinet’s Role • Overall direction and priority-setting • Policy decisions • Power plant proposals (e.g. SE2) • Acceptable levels of health protection • Economic development vs environment • Changes to legislation • Waste Management Act Review • Area-based planning • Local champions of environment

  10. Other Key Ministries • Health Planning and regional MHO’s • Transportation • Energy and Mines • Forests • Agriculture, Food and Fisheries • Community, Aboriginal and Women’s Services

  11. Federal Government’s Role Federal Government • International transboundary Issues • Vehicles and fuels (incl. off-road engines) • Marine vessels (via international process) • Rail • Research • Consumer/commercial products (e.g. solvents, paints)

  12. Local Government’s Role Local Government • Zoning • Official community plans, urban growth strategies, transportation strategies, energy plans • By-laws (backyard burning, woodstove use, etc.)

  13. Roles – Implications • Ministry is not sole champion of environment, nor is Air Protection Program • Air Protection Program can provide policy direction, supporting science and program goals/objectives • Must work with other stakeholders within and outside the Ministry to develop road map for achieving provincial and airshed goals

  14. Question: • What does the provincial air program want to achieve over the next 5 years?

  15. Airshed Protection An Integrated Approach e.g. AQO’s, monitoring, modelling, inventories, health assessments • To be effective, airshed planning must reflect • external drivers that influence air management in BC • long-term provincial objectives and policy • Must be supported by sound science (the “building blocks”) e.g. Kyoto, CWS, US/Canada AQ Agreement, Local Government e.g. Ozone/PM Annex, air toxics, visibility

  16. Airshed Improvement - Focus Short-term: • Degraded airsheds where community support • Clean airsheds where community support and opportunities to leverage ministry funding • Development of scientific/regulatory tools to address local air quality issues Long-term: • Development/clarification of policies/regulations wrt specific air issues or sources based on feedback from WMA Review Clean Air Issues Paper

  17. Airshed Protection Program Goals • Updated air quality standards • Clear expectations • Best available science to support decision-making • Province-wide improvement (through development of generic tools) • Airshed improvement (through airshed planning support) • Others?

  18. Updating Air Quality Standards Problem: • Current provincial air quality criteria largely developed in the 1970’s (i.e. old science) • Our understanding of health effects of air pollutants has changed rapidly over last decade • No safe thresholds of exposure for PM and ozone • Health risks increase with increasing exposure • CWS for PM and ozone are long-term performance criteria -- not practical for day-to-day air management decisions

  19. Updating Air Quality Standards What is needed? • Air quality criteria based on new science and understanding of risk management that can be applied to day-to-day air management decisions & longer-term planning • Policy guidance on acceptable levels of risk

  20. Updating Air Quality Standards Short Term: • Develop process to engage outside expertise on setting standards • Evaluate sets of air quality criteria used in other jurisdictions (including purpose and value judgments applied)

  21. Updating Air Quality Standards Medium Term: • Obtain policy guidance on acceptable levels of risk • Adopt new air quality criteria based on best available science employed elsewhere in Canada or abroad • Develop made-in-BC guidelines for how these criteria should be applied • To environmental impact assessments • To airshed planning • To keeping clean areas clean

  22. Updating Air Quality Standards Long Term: • Set targets to help achieve updated standards • Develop framework for ensuring periodic reviews of the air quality standards and associated goals

  23. Clear Expectations Problem: • Stakeholder feedback indicates frustration over unclear ministry expectations regarding • What air quality standards are to be met • Which dispersion models are to be used • What control technology is to be used • These uncertainties are a possible impediment to economic development • The public feels that their concerns are not being dealt with in the Environmental Assessment process (e.g. SE2, Duke Point) • Several major activities are proceeding at the federal-provincial (CWS) or international level (e.g. GBEI, Canada-US AQ Agreement, Kyoto) with opportunities to benefit from if we are engaged

  24. Clear Expectations What is needed? • To clarify air quality standards and how they are applied • To clarify decision-making processes used to evaluate proposals • To clarify ministry’s position/direction on new or emerging issues (e.g. Ozone/PM Annex, visibility, etc.)

  25. Clear Expectations Short term: • Evaluate stakeholder feedback from Clean Air Issues Paper consultation on how to improve air management in BC • Develop guidelines on how air quality criteria are to be applied • Develop guidelines on how dispersion models are to be applied in environmental assessments (EA) • Develop guidance for the public on EA process (jointly with EA Office) Long term: • Develop policy to clarify BC’s position on new and emerging issues • Ozone/PM annex • visibility • air toxics • AQI

  26. Best Available Science Problem: • Air quality issues and related health sciences are rapidly evolving, as are associated models • Air quality, meteorological and emissions data collected by various agencies, but no central repository or linkage • Ministry must be in a position to incorporate the best available science in decision-making, as reflected in Service Plan commitments

  27. Best Available Science What is needed? • To continuously update knowledge base and associated tools to identify: • where air quality is being degraded, • what the impact on human health and the ecosystem is, • what the contributing sources are, • what control measures are technologically feasible to reduce emissions, and • how proposed actions may effect future air quality and achievement of air quality goals.

  28. Available Tools • Monitoring & reporting • Data analysis • Emission inventories • PM source apportionment • Meteorological modelling • Air quality dispersion modelling • Health impact assessments

  29. Monitoring & Reporting • Finalize and implement provincial action plan for air & water quality monitoring & reporting

  30. Data Analysis • Develop/test improved suite of statistical tools for acquiring more information from existing air quality and meteorological data • Provide training on use of these tools

  31. Emission Inventories Short term: • Finalize year 2000 emission inventory • WLAP: • Point sources (Ministry authorized) • Pulp mills (NCASI) • Forest product industry revisions (ET consulting) • Prescribed burning and wildfires • Environment Canada (Ottawa) • Mobile sources • Areas sources • GVRD/Environment Canada • Marine sources

  32. Emission Inventories Short term (cont’d): • Continue to develop web information system (Arc IMS/IMF) • Point sources • Prescribed burning/wildfires • Ambient monitoring stations Medium term: • Further development of airshed emission inventories • Develop?? data management regional-central database • Merge with NPRI CAC reporting (2002 reporting year) • Develop improved road dust emission factors

  33. Emission Inventories Long term: • Identify common GIS platform involving • Environment Canada • GVRD • WLAP • Washington State • Extend inventory to include PM, VOC speciation • Fulfill other emission inventory needs related to Air Protection and Airshed Management

  34. PM Source Apportionment Short term: • Develop provincial strategy for PM source apportionment through inter-agency working group • Develop infrastructure to better support PM source apportionment (laboratory, training, tech tools, expert advice) Medium term: • Carry out pilot projects for source apportionment/PM speciation in priority airsheds

  35. Meteorological Modelling Short term: • Support development of meteorological models by universities and EC to obtain high-resolution (space and time) data for airshed characterization and dispersion modelling • Establish infrastructure for data-sharing with other agencies for both monitored and modelled meteorological information • Consider meteorological monitoring in priority airsheds to support model development and testing. Long term: • Produce 5 years of simulated high-quality, high resolution meteorological data for province

  36. AQ Dispersion Modelling Short term: • Produce model guidelines for proper application of existing models, with associated training • Test new approaches in meteorological/airshed modelling technology • Support efforts to develop, test and implement models appropriate for BC airsheds in partnership with US and Cdn regulatory agencies • Implement hardware/software to facilitate airshed-specific modelling

  37. AQ Dispersion Modelling Long term: • Establish an air quality modelling system for each airshed that accounts for complexities in sources and meteorology that includes seamless links to emission inventory, geophysical information & past and forecast met. data.

  38. Health Impact Assessments Short term: • Support assessment of methodologies to estimate air pollution-related health impacts in BC communities through expert panel (AQ & Health 2002 Study) • Support workshop on expert panel findings Medium term: • Apply suitable methodologies to estimate impact of air pollution on the province and individual regions/communities (where scale allows)

  39. Health Impact Assessments Long term: • Collect BC-specific data and carry out health impact assessment studies to address priority airsheds

  40. Province-wide Improvement Problem: • For efficiency and effectiveness in providing minimum AQ protection to all communities in BC, province-wide measures needed • Ministry in process of cutting number of regulations and de-permitting low- and medium-risk sources • The province has committed to developing a plan to manage GHG emissions • Many of the major contributors to poor air quality are also significant sources of GHG emissions (e.g. transportation, power plants, and other combustion sources) • In some instances, efforts to reduce GHG emissions (e.g. increased use of diesel vehicles) may result in negative air quality impacts • In other cases, measures may reinforce AQ goals

  41. Province-wide Improvement What is needed: • Selection of priority measures that most effectively target common air contaminants with GHG co-benefits (or no dis-benefits) • Development of appropriate innovative strategies to effectively manage both sets of contaminants

  42. Province-wide Improvement Short term: • Support development of Codes of Practice by EMB • Support GVRD efforts to design AQMP to achieve co-benefits • Identify other priority measures that achieve multiple goals Long term: • Development of new tools to address both sets of contaminants

  43. Airshed Improvement Problem: • Ministry is moving to a shared stewardship approach (e.g. airshed planning) • Airshed plans underway or in place in a number of communities (e.g. Bulkley Valley, PG, Quesnel/Williams Lake, Central Okanagan, FVRD, GVRD, Golden) • These are voluntary plans, developed independent of a common provincial vision • Potential for inconsistencies in achieving provincial goals • No incentives or authority beyond permitting requirements • Represent pro-active communities (and not necessarily most degraded airsheds)

  44. Airshed Improvement What is needed? • Provincial vision for airshed planning in BC • Means to encourage local government and stakeholders and facilitate voluntary airshed planning • Possible legislation to enable Minister to require airshed planning and/or implementation of airshed plans where there is a recognized need but no local support or action

  45. Airshed Improvement Short term: • Planning framework for threatened/degraded airsheds and for CI/KCAC • Possible enactment of area-based planning legislation (proposed through the Waste Management Act Review) • Encouragement of airshed planning through • Completion of an airshed planning guide for local governments (including a compilation of best practices, model by-laws) that identifies the steps to airshed planning • Development of a grant program to support projects that reflect provincial goals/criteria • Provision of scientific/technical support on a priority basis

  46. Airshed Improvement Planning Framework: • Purpose: To achieve a blending of national and province-wide measures with local innovative solutions to local problems • Incorporates guiding principles/key elements from Service Plan & Airshed Protection framework, including • shared stewardship • continuous improvement • science-based decision-making • maximized economic benefits • GHG co-benefits • knowledgeable public • Identifies range of air quality triggers for voluntary airshed planning and associated activities (all airshed types) • Recognizes relevant provincial policy and goals to be reflected in airshed plans (e.g. technology requirements, P2 planning, etc.)

  47. Airshed Improvement Long-term: • Development of additional economic or other instruments to further support voluntary airshed planning • Connection to infrastructure funding, OCPs, etc.

  48. Next Steps • Clarify deadline for completion of implementaton plan • Complete drafting of implementation plan based on • Input/feedback from AQ Met’s, EQ Section Heads and other groups (e.g. EMB, Climate Change) • Stakeholder Consultation on Clean Air Issues Paper

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