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19 <br /> h) Recent data from ozone monitoring sites in Chatham, Durham, and Wake County suggest <br /> that ozone concentrations are exceeding the ambient air quality standard at an increasing <br /> rate in recent years , and <br /> i) The State of North Carolina does not intend to locate an ozone monitor in Orange County <br /> in spite of the concern about ozone and its impact on human health . <br /> Goals <br /> - - The CfE has reviewed the goals developed by the Environment and Resources Protection <br /> Committee in the Report of the Shaping Orange County 's Future . These are admirable goals <br /> that the County should address over the long term . We suggest that there are four primary goals <br /> that should be addressed in the short- term that will help meet the long-term goals , and may <br /> ificant impact air quality in the County. Those goals are the following : <br /> ultimately have sign <br /> a) Gain a better quantitative understanding of the sources of air pollution in the County and <br /> the relationship between air quality and mobile sources within and outside the County, <br /> b) Gain a better understanding of transportation issues within the County and the region, <br /> c) Identify and define the role of Orange County in regional transportation issues and <br /> planning, and <br /> d) Reduce the impact of the County fleet on air quality. <br /> Needs and Recommendations <br /> To address the goals identified by the CfE and Shaping Orange County' s Future , there are <br /> a number of actions that that can be taken, including the following : <br /> e) The County should commit matching funds for a Mobile Source Emissions Reduction Grant . <br /> A grant application should be submitted to the State of North Carolina Department of <br /> Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the next cycle (December 2000) . One <br /> potential proposal is for the County to purchase alternative fuel vehicles for use by selected <br /> County agencies or Departments . The County' s portion of funds would be for vehicles and <br /> refueling stations . The grant money from DENR would offset differences in costs between <br /> conventional vehicles and low-pollution alternative vehicles . Based on recent successful <br /> applications , the County should commit approximately $ 80 , 000 to $ 120 , 000 for aproject to <br /> reduce mobile source emissions in the County. The scope of the project should be <br /> determined by County agencies and departments with the assistance of the County <br /> Transportation Planner and the CfE . <br /> f) The County should commit staff support to work on issues related to air quality and <br /> transportation in the County. We recommend that at least 5 to 10 % of the time of one staff <br /> member in the Environment and Resources Conservation Department be devoted to research <br /> and data collection on air quality issues . We recommend that the County Transportation <br /> Planner in the Planning Department should spend at least 5 to 10 % of his/her time in support <br /> of research and data collection on transportation issues as they impact air quality. Issues <br /> requiring staff support include the following : <br /> iii <br />