Air Matters, February 2007
Volume 2, Issue 1
Bureau of Air ManagementWisconsin Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 7921
Madison WI 53707
- In this issue
Download version: Air Matters, February 2007 [PDF, 243KB]
Air Matters changes production schedule
By Marty Burkholder
In order to better serve our customers, the Bureau of Air Management has decided to publish Air Matters more often. Our production schedule will change from quarterly to bimonthly beginning with the February 2007 issue. The change to six issues per year was made to help us get our news out to the public in a much more timely and efficient fashion.
We hope that you will continue to read Air Matters and that it continues to provide you with important information about the Air Management program. If you have any comments or suggestions you would like to make regarding the new production schedule or other aspects of Air Matters, please contact Anne Urbanski at 608-267-0573 or Anne.Urbanski@wisconsin.gov.
Burkholder is Internet Manager in the Bureau of Air Management.
Kessler named Bureau Director
By Anne Urbanski
DNR Secretary Scott Hassett and Air and Waste Division Administrator Allen Shea announced on February 15th that Kevin Kessler had been named as Director of DNR’s Bureau of Air Management. Kessler, 59, is a 36 year veteran of the DNR having served in various Water Division and Air and Waste Division management positions.
In his message to DNR Air Management employees, Shea said, “As you know, Kevin has served admirably in an acting capacity as the AM Bureau Director and is well versed in the many issues and challenges facing the program. I am confident the AM program will continue to flourish under his leadership.”
Urbanski is a public information specialist in the Environmental Analysis & Outreach Section.
Mercury regulations planned for coal-fired power plants
By Jon Heinrich
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is planning to request public hearing authorization on revisions to the state air mercury rule that will propose adopting requirements contained in the federal Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR). This request is expected to be made at the March 27-28, 2007 Natural Resources meeting in Madison. To see the agenda with additional meeting details as well as other information about the Board, please visit the Natural Resources Board web page.
The state mercury rule (adopted in October 2004) and the federal CAMR (adopted in May 2005) both affect coal-fired power plants but have significantly different requirements. The state rule made a commitment to match the reduction levels, compliance schedule and administrative requirements of any federal mercury rule when it became effective.
The federal rule requires the reduction of mercury emissions nationwide from new and existing coal-fired power plants. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has assigned each state a mercury emission budget that will not increase even if new coal-fired power plants are built. Wisconsin’s mercury emission budget beginning in 2010 is 1,780 pounds per year, which declines to 702 pounds per year in 2018. USEPA has developed a national mercury emission trading program as an option for states to meet their mercury emission budget.
Recent developments
On August 25, 2006, Governor Doyle issued a directive requiring the Department of Natural Resources to develop a rule to achieve a 90% reduction in emissions from coal- fired power plants. A 90% reduction would be substantially more stringent than the federally-imposed emission budget. The Governor’s directive didn’t specify when the DNR rule had to be adopted or when the 90% reduction had to be achieved.
In January 2007 the DNR received a Citizen Petition requesting revisions to the state’s existing mercury rule that would require more reductions of mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants than the federal rule requires. At the January 2007 Natural Resources Board meeting DNR staff provided an informational briefing concerning the major issues related to the revision of the state’s current mercury rule. In the briefing, Board members heard abut the significant issues that need to be addressed in the proposed rules, including the requests in the Citizen Petition, whether Wisconsin should participate in EPA’s national trading program and the commitment in the current state rule to be consistent with federal requirements.
Below is the link to the Air Management Program mercury rule web page that includes the Citizen Petition and January 2007 informational presentation to the Natural Resources Board.
For further information on mercury regulations, please contact Jon Heinrich at 608-267-7547 or Jon.Heinrich@wisconsin.gov
Heinrich is Chief of the Environmental Analysis and Outreach Section in the Bureau of Air Management.
What's an Air Quality Watch?
By Lindsay Haas
Air quality in Wisconsin is a year-round issue. Many people know that the air quality can be poor in the summer months, but what about the winter? Can Wisconsin have poor air quality days in the winter? The answer is yes, and when that's the case, the public will know about those bad air quality days when the DNR issues an Air Quality Watch or Air Quality Advisory.
You can learn more about the Air Quality Watch/Air Quality Advisory program through DNR's new publication, "What's an Air Quality Watch?" now available to the public. Inside this publication is information on when an Air Quality Watch or Air Quality Advisory is called, how the public will know about them, and actions you can take to reduce air pollution and to protect your own health.
For more information, or to place an order for this publication, please contact Lindsay.Haas@wisconsin.gov.
Haas is an Air Quality Educator with the Bureau of Education and Information
Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air Recognition Award
By Jessica Lawent
Here is an opportunity to nominate organizations that took voluntary actions to improve Wisconsin's air quality in 2006. The Recognition Awards program, sponsored by the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air, was established in 1996 as a way to recognize businesses and organizations for their accomplishments and inform others of successful programs.
The nomination process is easy and the award helps cultivate a positive image among employees, customers, and the public. Below are last year’s recognition award winners, shining examples of the many outstanding activities that Wisconsin businesses are engaged in:
Culvers Franchising System: for their innovative strategies to reduce waste and energy use. Culvers:
- converted some of their vehicles to run on their waste vegetable oil and donate some of the fuel to non-profit organizations;
- developed a how-to guide to assist franchise owners in vehicle conversion;
- installed bike racks at all Culver restaurants to encourage biking among employees and customers;
- partnered with Focus on Energy to install energy efficient kitchen ventilation hoods;
- developed an energy efficiency policy for all new construction;
- award their restaurants that best use green space and landscaping around their patios, and
- has only smoke-free restaurants.
UW Oshkosh: for their commitment to energy conservation.
- They are the largest purchaser of renewable energy in Wisconsin and 23rd among universities nationwide.
- They committed to energy retrofits that are projected to save over $92,000 a year and reduce emissions by 1 million pounds/year.
- They built their new recreation center to EPA LEED criteria and renovations of a residence hall include energy-saving materials and controls.
- They received an EPA Energy Star Award for a computer sleep mode program, which is estimated to save $9,000/year.
- They provide free bus passes to students, faculty and staff.
- They host the world’s largest Earth Charter Community Summit.
Wisconsin Interfaith Climate & Energy Campaign: for their devotion to statewide environmental awareness.
- They promote efficient use of energy and transportation to congregations and the public through workshops, workbooks, literature, and a website.
- They support a sustainable agriculture program in a village in India.
- They collaborated with We Energies to conduct natural gas reduction workshops with audits for all participating congregations.
- They created climate education kits to inform people on their travel impact.
- They support and promote the school bus retrofit project in southeastern Wisconsin.
This year, the 2006 award recipients will be announced and presented their awards at the Clean Air Extravaganza event to be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on May 24, 2007, at the Wauwatosa Civic Center. The nomination deadline is March 30, 2007. For nomination guidelines and more information about the award and event, please visit http://www.cleanairwisconsin.org/partnersmad.php.
Lawent is Vehicle & Voluntary Air Quality Programs Specialist in DNR’s Southeast Region Air Program.
The Bureau of Air Management is moving
By Sheri Stach
Beginning the week of February 19, 2007, the Bureau of Air Management will be moving temporarily to 345 West Washington Avenue in Madison. The bureau will be located primarily on the first floor with a small group of staff assigned to the Regional Pollutant and Mobile Source section located on the second floor.
The purpose of the move is to allow renovations of the current office on the 7th floor of GEF2 (101 South Webster Street). If construction proceeds according to plans, the air bureau will return to GEF2 some time during August 2007.
During the temporary move, the mailing address for the bureau will remain P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707. In addition, all staff phone numbers and electronic mail addresses will remain the same as they are at the current GEF2 location. If you schedule a meeting with an Air Management employee, please verify the location of the meeting. Some meetings may continue to be held in GEF2.
For further information, please contact Sheri Stach at 608-264-6292.
Stach is Chief of the Air Bureau’s Management section.
New publications
By Anne Urbanski
Beginning with this issue, Air Matters will note new Air Management publications since our last issue. The following publications have been posted on Air Management's website since mid-November 2006:
- Air Permit Streamlining: A Redesign for Success (December 2006) [PDF, 188KB]
- 2005 Wisconsin Sulfur Dioxide/Nitrogen Oxides (SOx/NOx) Emissions Report [PDF, 186KB]
- 2004 Wisconsin Sulfur Dioxide/Nitrogen Oxides (SOx/NOx) Emissions Report [PDF, 185KB]
Urbanski is a public information specialist in the Environmental Analysis & Outreach Section.
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