Georgia Basin - Puget Sound International Airshed Strategy Doug Brown WA Dept of Ecology September 23, 2009

Significant ozone levels (esp. summertime ozone highs) Concern about health effects of (esp.) PM Significantly growing population and economy Degraded visibility & implications for tourism/ quality of life Strong public concern re. threats to air quality Key AQ issues in GB/PS Photo courtesy of Port of Seattle

Area sources (e.g. home heating) increasingly important Outdoor burning (esp. rural) Increased fuel prices shift towards “green” behavior (smaller vehicles, car pooling, etc.) or … shift to cheaper (dirtier) fuels ? New science about pollutant impacts at previously “safe” levels Urban densification or increasing sprawl ? Increasing global inputs to our region (e.g. long-range Hg) Climate Change (GHG & Adaptation) Emerging AQ issues in GB-PS

PM Annex negotiations in progress under the US-Canada Air Quality Agreement Possible West Coast chapter to focus on Visibility PM 2.5 Non-Attainment designation in Tacoma area Residential wood smoke Vehicle emissions Ozone levels in Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) exceeding or near Canada- Wide Standards for Ozone Ozone levels in Puget Sound region nearing new EPA standards Residential Heating Wood Stove replacement programs Diesel Retrofit Programs ongoing Emerging AQ issues in GB-PS Addressing Visibility, Particulate Matter and Ozone

Emerging AQ issues in GB-PS New Science

Reduce risk to human health & ecosystems from AQ Improve visibility/Reduce Particulate Matter in airshed Decrease GHG in airshed Goals of the IAS

1991 U.S.-Canada Air Quality Agreement 1992 BC-WA Environmental Cooperation Agreement 1994 WA-BC-GVRD-NWCAA Interagency Agreement 2000 Statement of Cooperation on GB-PS Ecosystem st meeting what would become GB-PS IAS 2002 Statement of Intent on GB-PS IAS 2003 U.S.-Canada Border Air Quality Strategy 2005 IAS document finalized/ ratified 2006 PM Annex discussions begin History / context of IAS Process (GB-PS transb. cooperation)

9 United States EPA (r10) WA Dept. of Ecology WA Dept. of Health Regional AQ Agencies PSCAA NWCAA ORCAA Tribes National Park Service Whatcom County Cons. Society Canada Environment Canada (PYR) BC Min. of Environment Regional Agencies Metro Vancouver. (formerly the Greater Vanc. Regional Dist.) Fraser Valley Regional District First Nations Health Canada Members of the IAS Coordinating Committee

Agriculture Science Review of New Sources Clean Vehicles & Fuels Residential Wood Heating Marine & Ports Structure of IAS Coordinating Committee & work groups IAS CC members IAS CC secretariat (EC/ EPA) Climate Change Northwest Air Quality Communicators Rebecca Freedman Laura Curley

Benefit Effort Reporting out/ Share information (e.g. presenting new info at IAS meetings) Identify priorities/ gaps & decide on action (e.g. identify emerging trends, support transboundary approach to address marine/ port emissions) Coordinate efforts (e.g. on-road diesel emission reductions) Cooperate (e.g. transboundary emission reductions) Collaborate (e.g. improved transboundary A/S management) Enhance inter-agency relationships (e.g. strengthen existing/ develop new) Core activities of GB-PS IAS

Research and recommendations Core function of scientists and policy experts Focus = development of new information and path forward Such committees can be dissolved after issuing recommendations e.g. Airshed Characterization, modelling; Analysis of T/boundary AQ management models Governance Core function of executives/ key managers Focus Allows decision-making/ direction for multi-agency relevant issues To reach agreement on priorities and path forward e.g. decision to pursue marine vessel/ port emissions in transboundary context Info sharing/ Coordination Core function of agency representatives, workgroup leads and invited guests Focus = Discussion of new developments/ priorities, review of projects that cut across organizational boundaries, consideration emerging trends and future options, etc. May require small, more efficient sub-committees for specific themes/ issues/ tasks e.g. Darrington wood smoke efforts, diesel retrofit efforts (in WA, BC) Core functions of the Coordinating Committee (GB-PS IAS) Sharing/ Coordination (result = information) Research and analysis (result = recommendations ) Governance (result = decision) Collaboration/ Cooperation Core function of work groups Focus = To coordinate effort towards results (projects) of mutual interest e.g. LFV EI (in GVRD, FVRD, Whatcom Co), BAQS health studies Collaboration/ Cooperation (result = action)

Improved dialogue & trust between agencies Increased inter-agency resource leveraging (staff support and financial) Improved management of significant issues with overlapping implications Completion of projects to address AQ management and emission reductions Results of the IAS Coordinating Committee Inter-agency IAS Agricultural wind tunnel project to reduce nearby PM increases (Abbotsford) Diesel emission retrofit project to address on-road emissions (Lower Fraser Valley)

Completion of projects to address AQ mgt and emission reductions –Clean vehicles & fuels diesel emission reduction programs – info-sharing & parallel projects –EA/ major project notifications review of project procedures in GB-PS & gap analysis –Marine early identification of significant transboundary AQ issues, influence of West Coast Collaborative & implementation –Communication/ outreach Dev’t of coordinated message products for agency partners; transboundary polling of GB-PS residents re AQ values –Science GB-PS Airshed Characterization; prelim. assessment of deposition issues in GB-PS; identification/ gap analysis of visibility science/ monitoring in GB-PS –Wood smoke info-sharing re. BMPs to reduce emissions (technical, programs, community/ outreach) –Agriculture identification of BMPs to reduce emissions; engagement w industry partners on clean air issues; Results of the IAS Coordinating Committee