Agenda - 04-20-2004-7b - Laserfiche WebLink

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13 NCDAQ anticipates that the 8~hour ozone SIP will be due to EPA in 2007, and the yeaz ozone concentrations in the Triangle must meet the standazd will be 2010. Future Needs and Long-Term Coals Although technological improvements such as power plant controls and cleaner vehicles will improve air quality a great deal, action is needed to maximize the benefits from these controls, make sure air quality is improved sooner rather than later, and ensure that the benefits of controls are retained into the future. The Triangle's mast urgent immediate need is to identify an organization to serve as the region's coordinating body on air quality issues. The organization would provide education, outreach and serve as a cleazinghouse to coordinate air quality activities. Its mission would be to serve as the umbrella organization that helps the region understand the implications of air pollution on the Triangle's quality of life and economy. It would bring regional stakeholders together to shaze resources and garner support to reach air quality compliance to meet EPA requirements, and to make clean air a priority for the future. Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) will continue to increase. The current rate of North Cazolina VMT increase, as well as EPA national projections, suggests that VMT will continue to increase at a rate of 2 to 3 percent annually. Given a 2% annual increase, VMT in Wake County will more than double between 2004 and 2031. This growing VIvI'T will decrease the air quality benefits from vehicle emission controls, add to transportation infrastructure expense, and increase the conversion of open space to streets and highways. There will also be a significant impact an quality of life, as people spend more time in their cars, drive longer distances, and experience greater traffic congestion. The most pressing future need is reduction of VMT through local and regional growth planning. "Smart Growth" or sustainable development principles such as mixed-use development, brownfields redevelopment, neighborhood schools, higher density (where appropriate), and transit-oriented development will reduce VMT and may significantly improve quality of life in cur communities. Better public transit infrastructure is needed and should be tied to growth planning to co-locate greater residential densities, businesses, and transit. Businesses should be encouraged to locate neaz residential centers and transit infrastructure. In other words, we will continue to grow, but oiu challenge is to grow efficiently. Green building techniques also hold much promise for increasing energy efficiency, decreasing pollution from electricity generation, and reducing energy costs for building owners and tenants. Governments and private industry aze encouraged tc use green building techniques and energy efficiency measiues whenever possible. Many of these decisions must occur at the local level, and jurisdictions within a region must cooperate tc max;m;~e the benefits of sustainable development practices. Cleaning up the air will require regional cooperation and action by the local governments, the state, the USEPA, businesses,. community-based organizations and individual citizens. There won't be a cue-time solution. Cleaning the air also requires commitment from all of us to change our behaviors, even without a formal government program requiring us to do so. Each of us who live and work in the Triangle region must ultimately realize that we contribute to the problem, frequently for the sake of personal convenience, and that we can improve the quality of the air through our personal actions,