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4 <br />vehicle and other internal combustion engines, electric utilities and other Fuel- <br />burning or solvent-using industries, consumer use of various paints and solvents, <br />and some natural sources. <br />Being designated non-attainment means that summertime ozone levels within the <br />Triangle have exceeded the new standards, and this designation will trigger a series <br />of more-restrictive requirements for permits for new large industrial sources, and <br />requires that all new transportation plans must demonstrate that they will not <br />worsen air quality, If regional transportation plans fail to conform, Federal <br />transportation dollars are withheld and transportation projects put on hold (except <br />for projects that help achieve improved air' quality, potentially including projects <br />such as pedestrian, bicycle and transit options).. Triangle .J Council of Governments <br />has formed an Air Quality Committee (Attachment 1) to look at the issue from a <br />regional perspective. In 2003, Wake County created a local report of their own to <br />assess local strategies that Wake County could implement and suggest to address <br />ozone: <br />At the January .31 BOCC retreat, the Board asked the Commission for the <br />Environment to proceed with plans to evaluate the regional and Wake County <br />program and report back on potential Orange County ozone air quality measures. <br />.3. Purchase of Alternative Fuel and Low->;mission Vehicles (Partially <br />Underway, New Initiatives Proposed) <br />In April 2000, the Alternative Fuel and Low Emission Vehicle (AFLEV) Work <br />Group completed a year-long study of alternative fuel technologies and the <br />evaluation oflow-emission vehicles -and how these could be incorporated into the <br />County vehicle fleet. The report identified a mix of Compressed Natural Gas <br />(CNG), and electric vehicles as viable options, as well as the continuation of <br />purchasing ethanol-compatible (E85) vehicles. The report proposed a grant <br />submittal to the N.C. Mobile Source Emission Reduction Grant program for the <br />purchase of CNG and electric vehicles and refueling stations, <br />A grant was submitted in the fall of 2000 for the cost differential on four CNG and <br />one electric vehicle and a CNG fueling station, but the State budget crisis and later <br />a focus on larger-scale refueling centers eliminated this funding source.. <br />Additionally, the trickle-down effect of the State budget crisis delayed the purchase <br />of many replacement vehicles for' the County fleet, <br />In the meantime, the County has continued to purchase alternative-fuel-compatible <br />vehicles and low-emission vehicles where possible, To date, 22 E85-compatibale <br />vehicles have been purchased f'or the County vehicle fleet. _ low-emission <br />vehicles have also been purchased to date. Preliminary discussions about CNG <br />fueling stations have been held with Public Works and NCDOT staff about the <br />possibility of a CNG fueling station in Hillsborough, or near the confluence of I-85 <br />and I-40. Specifically, the NCDOT maintenance yard and Department of <br />Corrections facility has been identified as a prime site for a fueling station due to <br />its proximity to the interstates and its position equidistant between Greensboro and <br />Raleigh, <br />