Southwest Clean Air Agency

Important Information for Metal Fabrication
and Finishing Facilities

The Southwest Clean Air Agency is providing this information because your facility may be subject to a new EPA regulation, 40 CFR 63 Subpart XXXXXX National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Area Source Standards for Nine Metal Fabrication and Finishing Source Categories. Read more.

Important Information for Surface Coating
and Paint Stripping Facilities

The Southwest Clean Air Agency is providing this information because your facility may be subject to a new EPA regulation, Subpart HHHHHH National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP): Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coating Operations at Area Sources. New sources must be in compliance immediately, and existing sources (those in existence before September 17, 2007) must be in compliance by January 10, 2011. Read more.

EPA School Monitoring in Longview

The Southwest Clean Air Agency participated in the EPA Schools Monitoring Initiative. This monitoring project was part of an EPA national school monitoring program. St. Helens was one of 62 schools in 22 states that were part of this project. For more information about this project and see results online, visit www.epa.gov/schoolair.

Results are available on EPA's website and analysis indicates air quality is well within acceptable health-based standards. Read more.

Clark County	Restricted
Cowlitz County	Restricted
Lewis County	Restricted
Skamania County	Allowed
Wahkiakum County	Allowed

Fire Safety Burn Ban Status

The Fire Safety Burn Bans for Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Skamania and Wahkiakum Counties have lifted. As of October 1, 2009, all land clearing, residential and silvicultural burning is allowed outside of permanent No Burn Areas with the proper permits. For more information about burning in your county, click on the county link at the right or call the Southwest Clean Air Agency at 360-574-3058. Read more.

Bright Idea
If every American household replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs use about 75% less energy, last up to 10 times longer and produce 90% less heat than standard incandescent bulbs. Using a compact fluorescent light bulb can save more than $30 in energy costs over the lifetime of the bulb.

For more information, visit EnergyStar.gov.

Cleaner Diesel School Buses and Local Government Diesel Fleets
Since the Washington State School Bus Retrofit Program was funded in 2003 by the Washington state legislature, more than 650 school buses in southwest Washington have received diesel oxidation catalysts. Thanks to this program, retrofitted buses now emit 30 percent less air pollution in the form of fine-particles coming out of the exhaust pipe.

A second phase of this project included installing 350 Closed Crankcase Ventilation Systems (CCVS) on diesel school buses. This equipment will reduce the amount of diesel fumes that build up inside the buses and will further protect the lungs of school children. Also, approximately 50 diesel school buses were able to be installed with diesel multi-stage filters.

A third phase of this project involved reducing the diesel emissions of local government diesel fleets and private company diesel fleets. More than 100 diesel oxidation catalysts were installed on local government fleets and more than 80 diesel oxidation catalysts were installed on private company fleets. Organizations assisted included Clark County Solid Waste, City of Centralia, Clark County Public Works, Vancouver Fire Department, City of Camas, Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue, City of Washougal, Washington DOT, City of Kelso and Glacier Northwest (Cal Portland). City of Vancouver, Clark Public Utilities and City of Longview were assisted with similar projects through other funding.