Framework for Air Quality Management Planning in the Sea-to-Sky Airshed
An Air Quality Management Plan is a guiding framework designed to maintain or improve air quality in order to protect human health, the environment, and other values. It is a comprehensive road map outlining the actions needed to protect this resource through the use of tools including air quality monitoring, emission controls, policy development, proactive community planning, and public education.
In general, air quality has improved in recent years. The Air Quality Management Plan in the Sea-to-Sky airshed will build on that trend and focus on the following:
- Air quality monitoring in the southern portion of the airshed has shown concentrations of particulate matter under ten micrometres in diameter (PM10) and ground-level ozone that occasionally exceed provincial and federal air quality objectives, particularly during summer months.
- It is suspected that the non-industrial (non-point) emissions sources, such as automobiles and residential heating, may be responsible for a large proportion of the total quantity of pollutants released in the airshed.
- Communities in this area have experienced significant population growth and large increases in the number of tourists and recreationists, and these increases are expected to continue into the future, resulting in concomitant increases in the quantity of non-point source emissions.
- Regulatory approaches for managing air quality have involved site-specific permits for point source discharges (e.g., pulp mills) and introduction of regulations that target specific activities (e.g., Open Burning Smoke Control Regulation), technologies (Sulphur Content of Fuel Regulation) and consumer products (e.g., Solid Fuel Burning Domestic Appliance Regulation). The historical and current regulatory approaches for addressing air pollution have had limited success.
These concerns have highlighted the need for the development and implementation of innovative strategies and a proactive approach, to address current and future emissions from all significant sources. This can best be achieved through the implementation of an Air Quality Management Plan.
This report provides an initial overview of the tools and activities needed to help local governments and community stakeholders work together to produce an AQMP for the airshed.
The Framework for Air Quality Management Planning in the Sea-to-Sky Airshed report is available here (PDF/939KB/42 pages).
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