FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies Holds 2019 Spring Meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
State and Local Air Agencies Share Clean Air Act Priorities and Opportunities for Continued Environmental Progress with U.S. EPA Leadership
March 28, 2019
Lexington, KY
From March 25 to 27, the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies (AAPCA) held its 2019 Spring Meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. AAPCA welcomed more than 110 attendees, including senior officials from nearly 30 state and local environmental agencies, leadership from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and multiple regional EPA offices.
“State and local air agencies have primary responsibility for implementing Clean Air Act regulations and have been at the forefront of the significant progress that has been achieved in air quality,” stated AAPCA President Nancy Vehr, Air Quality Administrator for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. “AAPCA’s meetings provide an important opportunity for air quality leaders at all levels to discuss issues that can have a direct impact on communities.”
AAPCA was honored to feature Susan Bodine, Assistant Administrator for U.S. EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, as keynote speaker. Assistant Administrator Bodine spoke about recent priorities for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance as well as the roles of EPA and state and local partners in ensuring environmental compliance.
“As AAPCA indicated in a letter late last year to EPA’s Offices of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance and Air and Radiation, there are critical areas that EPA can engage state and local air agencies and have real impacts on air quality,” said AAPCA Vice President Marc Cone of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. “Assistant Administrator Bodine’s participation demonstrates EPA’s willingness to work together on key enforcement and compliance issues.”
AAPCA’s membership was also pleased to welcome Bill Wehrum, Assistant Administrator for U.S. EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, to discuss EPA’s current Clean Air Act work and opportunities for continued air agency engagement. The Spring Meeting included participation from multiple EPA regional offices, highlighted by EPA Region 6 Administrator Anne Idsal, who provided a welcome and spoke as part of the Risk/Environmental Communication topical session that kicked off the meeting. Other topics on the agenda included the implementation and review of ambient air quality standards, oil and gas updates, permitting, legal updates, regional haze, and technical presentations related to modeling and monitoring.
AAPCA’s Secretary/Treasurer Vivian Aucoin of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality noted: “The State of Louisiana was excited to host AAPCA’s 2019 Spring Meeting in Baton Rouge, and appreciates the participation of U.S. EPA, particularly EPA Region 6 and Regional Administrator Idsal. Robust engagement across state, local, and federal levels is vital to the Clean Air Act’s framework of cooperative federalism.”
“This successful meeting was the result of vital input from AAPCA’s state and local membership, which has seen steady membership growth over the past few years, including three new state members this year,” said AAPCA Past President Stuart Spencer of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. “AAPCA looks forward to continuing to be a key resource for air agencies through robust meeting agendas, consensus comments, and technical forums.”
All presentations from the 2019 Spring Meeting can be found here. AAPCA’s 2019 Fall Business Meeting will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina from August 26 to 28.
AAPCA Background
The Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies (AAPCA) is a consensus-driven organization focused on assisting state and local air quality agencies and personnel with implementation and technical issues associated with the federal Clean Air Act. AAPCA’s members work collaboratively on behalf of states and the communities they protect to act as a conduit for and provide feedback to federal regulators on air quality rules that have significant impacts across the entire nation. AAPCA represents more than 45 state and local air agencies, and senior officials from 22 state environmental agencies currently sit on AAPCA’s Board of Directors. AAPCA is housed in Lexington, Kentucky as an affiliated association of The Council of State Governments (CSG).
Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies | 1776 Avenue of the States | Lexington, Kentucky 40511
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