Congratulations, Tri-County! The data for 2008 is in, and you helped keep our air clean and healthy! The mild summer weather certainly helped, but your efforts to reduce fuel consumption contributed to the region's success. Great work!

The positive 2008 air quality data also helps our metropolitan region maintain our designation as an "attainment" area with respect to U.S. EPA Clean Air Act requirements. Keeping our attainment status is important as we look to attract new residents and businesses, and avoid additional regulations and requirements from the State or Federal government.

Preserving our clean, healthy air is a goal important to all of us. Therefore, TCRPC is re-launching Clean Air Action in early spring 2009 as we approach the peak of the ozone season. With your help, our region will again enjoy clean air this year, a goal we can all appreciate every time we breathe! Look for news from our local media throughout the year, and below is more detail on the Clean Air Action initiative.

What You Can Do

Clean Air Action focuses on preserving clean, healthy air in the Tri-County Region through voluntary actions by individuals, businesses and government.

In the Tri-County Region, ground-level ozone is the primary air quality concern. Ground-level ozone is the by-product of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and Nitrous Oxide (NOx) “cooking” in hot, sunny, dry weather. VOCs and NOx primarily come from the use of fossil fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and coal, in addition to fumes from oil-based paints and solvents.

Even a small change makes a difference.  If you spill 1 oz of gasoline during your fill up, it releases the same amount of ground-level ozone-causing VOCs as driving your car for 56 miles. Ten things you can do to keep our air clean are shown below.  Click the list to download a printable flyer.

Ground-level ozone levels in the Tri-County Region have been increasing gradually over the past years. At the same time, on May 27, 2008 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) tightened its definition of what constitutes "healthy" air, reducing allowable ground-level ozone levels from 80 to 75 parts per billion (ppb).  Click to see a larger chart of ozone levels.

In response, in a proactive effort to to keep our air healthy and address the new USEPA standards, TCRPC will has launched a Clean Air Action initiative. The voluntary strategies promoted through this initiative can help keep our air clean and healthy. A similar strategy was adopted in the Quad Cities in 1998; today that area has the lowest levels of ground-level ozone in downstate Illinois.

More Information

Download the Clean Air Action Flyer here.

How much do you know about air quality? Take the quiz.

Download the "It All Adds up to Cleaner Air"  fun fact sheet here.

Links

See how the 2009 Construction Schedule will increase congestion and affect you. http://tricountyrpc.org/transportation-page/construction

See current ozone levels and tomorrow's ozone forecast. www.airnow.gov

Sign up with the EnviroFlash Email alert system to be notified when high ozone days are likely to occur. http://www.enviroflash.info/

Find out the region's ozone levels over the past week at the Illinois EPA website: http://www.epa.state.il.us/air/ozone/o3high.html

Find more ways to help keep our air clean at www.italladdsup.gov

________________________________________

For more information about Clean Air Action, please contact:

John A. Chambers
Senior Planner
Tri-County Regional Planning Commission
Email
(309) 673-9330