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October 13:
Atlanta Transportation Roundtable Approves Final TSPLOST Project List
Today the Atlanta Regional Roundtable approved the final version of a list of transportation projects totaling $6.14 billion to eb funded by a 10-county special Local Option Sales Tax if approved by voters. Stay tuned for our response to the final list, which includes roughly half of the funding for new and existing transit lines in metro Atlanta.
Background: On August 15 the Executive Committee approved a $6.14 billion dollar list developed by staff and elected officials from all 10 counties. Roughly half of the funding is allocated to transit projects, including the following: Clifton Corridor rail connection to Lindberg station; light rail from Arts Center to Cumberland in Cobb County; MARTA rail east extension to Wesley Chapel Road; MARTA "state of good repair" badly needed projects; environmental studies to prepare for rail extensions north and also into Gwinnett; portions of the Atlanta Beltline; a regional mobility call center to support seniors and others who are transit-dependent; and restoration of bus service in Clayton County.
Missed the public meetings? No problem-- complete ARC's new online survey before September 28. Alternatively, you may leave comments for the Roundtable online. The full Roundtable will review results from the public meetings, the survey, and all other forms of public comment at meetings scheduled for September 28, October 6 and October 11. Your voice is important-- please speak up!
Resources
Background: In the final days of the 2010 legislative session House Bill (HB) 277 was passed. This enabling legislation allows regions, with voter approval, to levy a sales tax to fund a specific list of transportation projects. Atlanta’s region is the 10-county Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) area, and the Atlanta Transportation Roundtable is charged with boiling down the long list of potential projects submitted by county and city officials to the list that will be put before voters in the summer of 2012.
Cars and trucks contribute more than half of Atlanta’s smog-forming nitrogen oxides as well as high concentrations of particle pollution and toxic gases. Children growing up or going to school close to busy roadways are at increased risk of many serious health problems, including wheezing, reduced lung function that persists into adulthood, and heart problems. In addition, multimodal transportation alternatives offer people of all ages opportunities to build physical activity into their day, which is essential to good health. The transportation sales tax offers Atlanta an opportunity to expand the region’s public transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure so that more residents have good alternatives to car travel and we all can breathe cleaner air.
September 27 Press Briefing at Emory University's
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory University, Mothers & Others for Clean Air and Environment Georgia teamed up today to take stock of Atlanta's 2011 smog season and the continuing challenge of ozone pollution, highlight ongoing research at the Rollins School of Public Health that provides evidence of the health impacts of ozone and other forms of air pollution, and discuss opportunities to reduce harmful emissions by expanding Atlanta's public transit system (see TSPLOST information, below).
View a multimedia presentation of the event created by Matt McWilliams with the Livable Communities Coalition's Fair Share for Transit Campaign.
Read the press release and download a list of speakers and their affiliations.
Download Mothers & Others for Clean Air's Atlanta smog season statistics.
Review Environment Georgia's Danger in the Air report, released today.
 
Smog press briefing speakers and Atlanta Commuter Exposure (ACE) Study equipment
 
Maeve Howett with Emory's Nursing School and Southeast PEHSU and Jeremy Sarnat with Emory's Rollins School of Public Health discuss air pollution and its health effects. (Photo credit: Matt McWilliams)
Mothers & Others for Clean Air Gives Opening Call to Action at Children's Health Town Hall with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
M&O Director Rebecca Watts Hull provided the opening remarks calling for clean air advocacy at a Children’s Health Town Hall event with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson on April 18 at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. Turner Foundation, Emory, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia PTA and Mothers & Others partnered to put together this town hall meeting designed to highlight the importance of research, regulation and advocacy in protecting the environment for our children. The Rollins School of Public Health auditorium was packed as scientists from Emory, Georgia Tech, EPA and CDC provided research updates before Administrator Jackson highlighted the new Mercury and Air Toxics rule and took questions from the audience. A Call to Action panel including Laura Turner Seydel, Georgia PTA’s Irene Barton, SELC attorney Brian Gist, leading pediatrician Dr. Robert Geller and pediatric nurse practitioner Dr. Maeve Howett challenged the audience to weigh in on a variety of environmental issues affecting the environment and children’s health.
View the event press release.
Read Rebecca's prepared Opening Remarks.
  
Mothers & Others for Clean Air, SACE and diesel advocacy organizations from around the nation travel to Washington DC to push for diesel clean-up funding
On March 28-30, 2011, the Mothers & Others for Clean Air director, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) diesel program manager and a Georgia pediatrician and volunteer Dr. Yolanda Whyte traveled to Washington, DC to engage in strategic planning for diesel clean-up measures and to meet with Senators and Congressmen about the need for continued federal funding for diesel retrofit projects that reduce harmful soot from diesel engines by as much as 90%.
The team of about two dozen diesel clean-up advocates met as a group with staffers for members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee about including a requirement and funding for the use of clean construction equipment in federally-funded transportation projects in nonattainment areas. The cost of meeting the clean equipment standards would be capped at one percent of the total project cost and included in the federal grant award.
Our Georgia team then met with staff in the offices of Congressman John Lewis, Lynn Westmoreland and Rob Woodall and we were fortunate to be able to speak personally with Congressman Hank Johnson. Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funding was zeroed out in the President's 2012 budget so we discussed the many projects totalling over $7 million that have cleaned up dirty diesel engines in Georgia over the past few years through DERA and called for that funding to be reinstated. We also explained the proposed clean construction provision in the new transportation bill and how it would benefit air quality and public health in Georgia.
  
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed Celebrate Launch of Mothers & Others for Clean Air School Flag Program
On November 30, 2010 at Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (CSKYWLA), an Atlanta Public School, Mayor Kasim Reed and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson joined Mothers & Others for Clean Air in launching a new school initiative to help protect children from the effects of bad air. The school Air Quality Index flag program will make air quality known to the entire school community with flags that fly daily reflecting the day’s air quality.
Atlanta’s AQI flag program, developed by Mothers & Others for Clean Air, will easily and visually alert children, teachers, coaches, administrators and parents about Atlanta’s air quality each day. Green and yellow days offer opportunities for teachers and coaches to encourage their students to get outside and get moving. Orange and red flags make it easier to monitor poor air quality, helping the many students and staff living with asthma to avoid a serious asthma trigger.
This flag program is one of only a few programs in the Southeast. Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy is the first school to implement the program in partnership with Mothers & Others for Clean Air.
“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving Atlanta’s air quality is a vital component to our initiative in becoming a more sustainable city,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “Not only does the flag program raise our children’s awareness about poor air quality and its harmful effects, it also provides a highly visible reminder of how damaging and pervasive smog really is.” Read the full press release.
M&O founding Mother Laura Turner Seydel and CSKYWLA student Breasya Jenkins joined M&O director Rebecca Watts Hull at the school's flagpole, flying a green flag reflecting good air quality, to formally kick off the program. Co-founders Laura Seydel and Stephanie Blank later addressed the school's sixth graders, inspiring them to become environmental and children's health leaders. CSKYLWA science teacher Lyndsey Collins was honored for excellence in education and students in the school's "Going Green" club received certificates from EPA recognizing their green initiatives.
    
Mothers & Others for Clean Air (M&O) and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) Facilitate Clean Diesel Workshop
On September 9, 2010, M&O and SACE facilitated the second clean diesel workshop of 2010 funded by an American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant to the University of Georgia (UGA). SACE and Mothers & Others for Clean Air represent Georgia in a national diesel coalition that lobbied to secure $300 million to fund diesel emissions reduction projects as part of ARRA. The UGA grant is funding pollution control devices for about 180 vehicles in Athens-Clarke County and Washington County, including waste haulers, UGA transit buses, fire and emergency vehicles and school buses.
The grant also has funded M&O and SACE to lead clean diesel outreach efforts to other cities and counties in Georgia. This effort includes support to municipal fleet managers to develop clean diesel grant proposals so that they might follow the lead of Athens-Clarke County and Washington County and receive federal grants to install pollution control devices on diesel equipment.
Download presentations from the SACE Web site.
Mothers & Others for Clean Air Speaks Out at EPA Transport Rule Hearing
On September 1 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosted a public hearing on a proposed rule that would significantly reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from coal-fired power plants in 31 states and the District of Columbia. These pollutants react with other compounds in the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
In addition to M&O staff and M&O steering committee members June Deen (American Lung Association) and Dr. Anne Mellinger-Birdsong, four M&O network members took the time to develop statements supporting a strong rule and testified at the hearing. Thank you!!
New One-Hour Sulfur Dioxide Standard Announced!
On June 2, 2010 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new one-hour standard for sulfur dioxide (SO2), one of six national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) set by EPA.
EPA considered levels between 50 and 100 ppb for the new, one-hour standard, and decided to set the standard at 75 ppb. While not as protective as 50 ppb the new short-term standard provides better protection for children and people of all ages living with asthma.
In an unprecedented effort, currently EPA is reviewing all six NAAQS. A new standard for ozone will be announced in August, and the preliminary findings of the fine particle pollution review will be announced in the fall. Twenty-seven Georgia counties violate the standard for ozone, fine particles, or both. With the new SO2 standard, several counties may soon violate for that pollutant, as well.
Sulfur dioxide is a gas composed of sulfur and oxygen. It forms when sulfur-containing fuel such as coal, oil, or diesel is burned. Sulfur dioxide also converts in the atmosphere to sulfates, a major contributor to fine particle pollution in the eastern U.S.
This health standard has not been revised since 1971. The new proposed standard would limit one-hour levels of sulfur dioxide gas, offering more protection from short spikes in SO2 than the current annual or 24-hour standards provide. Because even a 10-15 minute exposure to high concentrations of SO2 can trigger a severe asthma attack, this change will better protect the health of millions—including the roughly a quarter of a million children living with asthma in Georgia.
Implications for Georgia
Based on the most recent monitoring data (2006-2008) Chatham County is likely to fail the new standard of 75 ppb.
What can the new standard do for Georgia?
- Enable EPD to require better controls: Nonattainment status would enable Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division to require industrial facilities, especially pulp/paper mills, to use the maximum achievable control strategies to reduce SO2 pollution from their plants.
- Persuade Georgia Port Authority to speed up its efforts: While new rules in process will eventually force marine vessels to burn cleaner fuel, the possibility of SO2 nonattainment may persuade GPA to take steps to reduce pollution in the interim, rather than wait years for the new rules to come into play. Reduced speed zones in and around the harbor to reduce emissions, and differentiated fees structures that incentivize the use of cleaner fuels ahead of what is required by EPA have been used at other ports to reduce pollution.
- Improve monitoring: With the modest number of monitors in place right now, it is difficult to know to what extent Georgia experiences localized problems with short-term spikes in SO2. The improvements in monitoring proposed in the new rule will make it easier for the state to identify problem areas and take action to eliminate SO2 spikes we may be missing.
Savannah Morning News interviewed Mothers & Others for Clean Air’s Rebecca Watts Hull about the new standard and its impact on Savannah.
Atlanta Hosted the Only Hearing Nationwide for EPA’s Proposed Sulfur Dioxide Standard on January 5, 2010. Read more.
Recent Mothers & Others for Clean Air Newsletters
August/Sept 2011
July 2011
May 2011
March 2011
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Trends
American Lung Association releases its 2011 State of the Air report: View Georgia's air quality report card-- improving, with a lot of progress still to be made.
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