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1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction Clean air is a national , state, and local goal , the importance of which is well recognized . The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC ) of Orange County has demonstrated their concern for protection of the environment and air quality in many actions that . they have taken . In 1997 , the BOCC approved creation of the Commission for the Environment (CfE) . The mandate of the Commission is to advise the BOCC on matters affecting the environment , with particular emphasis on environmental protection . During the past year, the CfE has proposed the following resolutions related to air quality which were approved by the BOCC : a) Resolution to Create an Ozone Air Quality Action Plan for Orange County . Status : plan developed and implemented in summer of 1999 b) Resolution Regarding Future Purchase of Low Emission and Fuel Efficient County Vehicles . Status : on- going activity c) Resolution for a Recommendation that Orange County Establish a Committee to Research a Plan for Use of Alternative-Fueled Vehicles , Improved Fleet Maintenance , . . . and the Potential for Submitting a Mobile Source Emissions Reduction Grant Application . Status . on- going activity. To assist the BOCC in identifying issues of concern to its constituents with respect to environmental quality, the Air Quality Committee of the CfE has prepared this report, which summarizes information about air quality in the County. It also includes goals and recommendations for actions that may maintain and/or improve air quality in the County. Status of Air Quality in the County The following briefly highlights the status of air quality in Orange County. a) Based on available information, mobile sources appear to be the major contributor to air pollutant levels in the County, b ) Based on U . S . Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) models , 73 % of the emissions of nitrogen oxides , precursors of ozone , are from mobile sources in Orange County compared to only 6 % from stationary sources , c) The average vehicle miles traveled per person in Orange County increased from 20 miles per person in 1987 to 28 miles per person in 1997 , a 40 % increase , d) There are only 20 permitted stationary sources in the County and most are small sources , e) There is little historical data on air quality in Orange County; the only historical data are for carbon monoxide , a pollutant of decreasing concern to the U . S . EPA; carbon monoxide monitoring in Chapel Hill will be discontinued in 2000 , f) A PM2 . 5 (fine particulate matter with a mean diameter of less than 2 . 5 Tim ) sampler was set up in Chapel Hill in 1999 in response to listing of PMZ . 5 as a criteria pollutant by the EPA ; the monitor will facilitate trend analysis in the coming years , g) Other than PM2 . 5 , no other air pollutants are monitored anywhere in Orange County, 11