| Two regions check
in for smog rehab
Virginia Business
March 2004
Two
of Virginia’s most polluted regions aren’t
waiting for a kick in the pants from federal officials
to deal with their problem. Officials in Roanoke
and Winchester have agreed to enter
a voluntary program with the Environmental Protection
Agency to reduce ozone levels.
In late December both areas submitted their second semi-annual
reports to the EPA outlining their initial efforts to
develop local pollution-control measures. Northern
Virginia, Hampton Roads and
Richmond have also been cited for high
ozone levels, but the northern Shenandoah Valley
and the Roanoke area are the only two Virginia regions
that have signed up for the voluntary program.
The move allows local officials to develop their own
approach to reducing smog, and if air quality readings
are improved, they avoid the economically debilitating
“non-attainment” label, which could mean
less federal highway funding and extra restrictions
on emissions from vehicles and industries.
Still, reducing smog could be difficult to achieve without
outside help since a significant amount of both regions’
pollution problems are not entirely under their control.
In Winchester’s case, local printing plants and
traffic congestion on Interstate 81 contribute to the
problem, but the thick haze that often blankets the
area blows in beyond its borders — courtesy of
power plants in such states as West Virginia and Ohio.
Virginia
Business - March 2004
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