News and InformationCategory Archives

Current news of interest concerning air quality programs, regulations and events.

Alternatives to Outdoor Burning

Good for your health, and the health of our wildlands

You have an opportunity to curb fire risks, improve air quality, and make your neighbors’ lives easier. All by NOT striking a match.

Residents who have yard waste to dispose of should look into clean alternatives to burning. Alternatives such as chipping and composting help keep our air clean and healthful. Those alternatives can also be used all summer, unlike burning. Because of wildfire and public safety concerns in our wooded counties, seasonal burn bans take effect each summer.

One of the best alternatives to burning is composting.  Not only is composting free and easy to do, but it yields a great resource for your yard and garden.

Chipping woody materials and using the chips as ground cover also works well. Many commercial composting facilities and waste transfer stations around Western Washington accept yard waste for a modest fee.

Residents who do burn must remember the only material they may legally burn is natural vegetation gathered on site. State law prohibits the burning of garbage and home-repair debris. Burn barrels of any kind are also prohibited by state law.

Unregulated outdoor burning of any kind can contribute to poor air quality, but burning garbage and other debris is particularly problematic. Most household garbage contains a great deal of plastics, chemicals, coatings and chemically treated materials. When burned, this garbage and waste material releases toxic fumes and particles into the air. This pollution can cause disease ranging from eye and respiratory irritation to potential cancers.

For statewide Burn Ban information, visit http://waburnbans.ne

admin
May 10, 2013
Burn Status, Health, News and Information
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DNR program helps keep air clean while preventing wildfires

Burn barrels for Compost Bins

You have an opportunity to curb fire risks, improve air quality, and make your neighbors’ lives easier.  At no cost to you!

A Wildfire Awareness and Prevention Program sponsored by the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) offer residents of western Clallam Countyan opportunity to dump their burn barrels and get a compost bin, for free! The bins, provided by DNR, can help turn yard waste into free garden fertilizer while eliminating one of the primary sources of wildfires: burn barrels.

Burn barrels also produce significantly more air pollution than open burn piles.  For those reasons, the state legislature banned the use of burn barrels in all areas of Washington several years ago; but the barrels continue to be used by many, despite the risks to public health and property.

Clallam County Burn Barrel Exchange:

What:      Exchange your burn barrel for a compost bin

When:     May 9, 10, and 11 — 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where:   West Waste Landfill, Highway 110, Forks, WA

Contact: Bryan Suslick at (360) 374-2800 or email at bryan.suslick@dnr.wa.gov

By replacing that illegal burn barrel with a compost bin for your yard waste, residents will:

  • Produce free, organic fertilizer for their yard and garden
  • Reduce harmful air pollution. Smoke from outdoor burning poses serious health risks, much like cigarette smoke. Particulate pollution from smoke may lead to increased incidents of asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, and heart and lung disease.
  • Reduce the risk of wildfire. Backyard fires that ‘escape’ are the leading source of wildfires caused by humans, and many of those escapement fires start in burn barrels.

There are a limited number of compost bins available for this program, so residents are urged to act NOW.

DNR is encouraging homeowners, land managers, first responders, developers, business owners, and civic leaders to focus on “Knowing Your Role” when it comes to preparing communities for wildfire. Visit the Fire Adapted Communities website (http://fireadapted.org/) to learn more about defensible space, fire-resilient building construction, community wildfire prevention planning, the Firewise Program, (www.firewise.org) and Ready, Set, Go! (http://www.wildlandfirersg.org/).

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admin
May 6, 2013
Burn Status, Health, News and Information
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Comment period open on Thurston PM10 continuing maintenance plan

The Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) would like to, first and foremost, thank you helping us meet the federal standard for Particulate Matter 10 microns and smaller (PM10). It wasn’t too long ago that Thurston County wasn’t meeting that standard.

During the late 1980s, the Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater area – dubbed the Thurston County Maintenance Area (TCMA) – exceeded federal standards for PM10. Smoke from woodstoves and fireplaces caused the TCMA to violate the standard. Control measures brought the TCMA into attainment by 1991 and EPA designated the TCMA as “in attainment” in 2000.

The federal Clean Air Act (CAA) requires an EPA-approved maintenance plan for areas that were redesignated as in attainment. This plan must provide for the area’s continued compliance with the PM10 standard for 10 years. Following that period, a second 10-year plan must be implemented.

The state Department of Ecology, working closely with ORCAA, developed a second 10-year plan, and that plan is currently open for public comment and possible revision before it is fully adopted. The draft plan explains how the TCMA will continue to meet the federal standard through 2020. Since the maintenance area meets EPA criteria and shows little risk of re-violating the federal standard, Ecology is submitting a streamlined maintenance plan called a Limited Maintenance Plan (LMP). The LMP relies on the same control measures that brought the area into attainment and supported the initial maintenance plan, including:

  • Curtailment of wood burning devices during periods of impaired air quality
  • Certification of new wood burning devices
  • Rules governing sale and removal of uncertified wood stoves
  • Restrictions on outdoor burning

The draft plan and details about the public comment period may be found here: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/sips/plans/maintenancesip.htm

 

admin
April 23, 2013
News and Information
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ORCAA Approves Nippon Cooling Tower Permit

After careful consideration of all public input, Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) has approved the Notice of Construction (NOC) Application from Nippon Paper Industries USA (Nippon) for a Cooling Tower addition to their existing permitted facilities. The NOC allows construction and operation of a 5,500 gallons-per-minute cooling tower at their existing paper mill located at the base of Ediz Hook in Port Angeles, Washington.

ORCAA has assessed air quality implications of Nippon’s proposed project and considered all public comments and questions – more than 70 pages of comments and ORCAA responses were generated during the permitting process. ORCAA concluded that compliance with applicable air regulations and standards will be maintained and has issued the permit.

During the public process, ORCAA engineers provided detailed responses to all public inputs. ORCAA staff invested considerable time in fully investigating issues of concern before making a decision. One frequently expressed public comment was that the cooling tower was being permitted alone and that could mask the overall combined emissions. As noted in the detailed responses, ORCAA engineers did look at the combined impacts of the entire facility and found that the addition of the cooling tower would actually decrease the total particular matter (PM) emissions for Nippon. Additionally, there would be no change in permitting or source classification when all emissions sources were combined. Nippon is already classified as a major source under federal clean air laws, requiring the more stringent Air Operating Permit (AOP) under Title V of the U.S. Clean Air Act for its operation.

Citizens also expressed interest in having access to the monitoring data gathered from the in-stack monitors on the cooling tower. That data will be available to the public as soon as it is provided to ORCAA – once in ORCAA’s hands, it becomes public records and is available as such.

The full record of all public comments received and ORCAA’s responses to them, as well as the full NOC permit and supporting documents are available online at: http://www.orcaa.org/news/final-determinations.

admin
March 18, 2013
News and Information, Permits
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Thurston County burn status moved to Stage 1 Burn Ban

Due to lowered air pollution levels, the BURN BAN Status in Thurston County has been lowered to Stage 1 Burn Ban as of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16.

Under a Stage 1 Ban, no burning is allowed in fireplaces or uncertified wood stoves, and all outdoor burning is prohibited, even in areas where outdoor burning is not permanently banned. Additionally, no visible smoke is allowed from any wood stove or fireplace, certified or not, beyond a 20-minute start-up period.

The drop in pollution levels may be attributed to good public compliance and support of the burn bans, voluntary reductions in burning outside burn ban zones, and slight improvement in weather conditions that allows some clearing of ground-level pollution. The Stage 1 Burn Ban in Thurston County remains because pollution there hasn’t fully cleared out, and because calm, cold weather will prevail through the weekend. ORCAA asks for continued cooperation from the public during this event to ensure our shared air remains as clean and healthy as possible.

While pollution levels in Thurston County warrants the Stage One Ban, other counties within the jurisdiction of the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) haven’t reached that level.  To avoid bans in their areas, the residents of Mason, Pacific, Grays Harbor, Clallam and Jefferson Counties are asked to voluntarily refrain from all outdoor burning, and to use safe alternatives to wood heat if possible.

Of particular concern are fine particles released by smoke from wood stoves and fireplaces. The Washington State Department of Health recommends that people who are sensitive to air pollution limit time spent outdoors. Air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, cause difficulty breathing, and make lung and heart problems worse. Air pollution is especially harmful to children, people with heart and lung problems, and adults over age 65.

Olympic Region Clean Air Agency staff will continue to monitor the situation to determine when the burn ban can be lifted. In the meantime, here are some other things people can do to help protect the air we breathe:

  • If you have a certified wood stove or fireplace insert, make sure you are using it properly so you don’t produce excess chimney smoke. Excess smoke is always illegal.
  • To learn more about clean burning techniques or upgrading to a certified, pellet, natural gas or propane stove, visit http://www.epa.gov/burnwise/
  • To determine if your stove is certified, visit www.orcaa.org.
  • Limit your driving as much as possible, since vehicles are a big source of air pollution year round. Consider utilizing Intercity Transit’s bus service in Thurston County as an alternative — and cleaner — means of transportation. www.intercitytransit.com

For more information about Burn Ban regulations, you may refer to Chapter 173-433 of the Washington Administrative Code.

ORCAA staff closely monitors real-time air quality data as well as weather data and forecasts to update burn ban status when conditions warrant.

To learn about the health effects of air pollution, check out the American Lung Association of Washington’s Web site at www.alaw.org. To find the latest on the status of burn restrictions within ORCAA’s six-county region, visit www.orcaa.org.

admin
January 16, 2013
Burn Status, Exec. Director's Desk, Health, News and Information
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