THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 16, 1996 TAG: 9608160594
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 85 lines
There are few sacrifices and no tailpipe inspections. In fact, the long-awaited plan to cut smog in Hampton Roads, released Thursday, includes no new gadgets or strategies but relies on existing air-pollution controls.
More mundane than visionary, the plan still holds real significance for the region, both economically and environmentally.
If approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as expected, the plan would remove Hampton Roads from a national list of smog-troubled cities. Removal means that local business, industry and vehicle owners no longer would face the threat of tougher pollution limits because of lingering smog levels.
With cleaner-burning fuels and more efficient engines in use, state officials who drafted the plan expect to reduce by 72 tons per day the two building blocks of smog - nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.
Smog occurs when these byproducts of cars, trucks, industrial plants - and even paints, solvents and outdoor barbecues - mix chemically under intense sunlight in summer months.
This summer, the region has not come close to violating federal health standards, state officials said. The last time Hampton Roads registered a smog violation was in 1993, when high readings were recorded on three summer days.
Under the plan, the other big reduction in air pollution is slated to come from Virginia Power. The utility has voluntarily agreed to modify its two coal-fired plants in Chesapeake and Yorktown, a move that should cut emissions by 26 tons a day, said James E. Sydnor, director of air pollution planning for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Two other local industries, Amoco Oil Co. and Congentrix Virginia Leasing Corp., which operates a power plant, were asked this spring to similarly cut their emissions of nitrogen oxide. But changes were deemed too expensive and the request was later withdrawn - a decision made easier when Virginia Power showed it could curb its output by 26 tons, Sydnor said.
Sydnor described the overall state plan, crafted after nine months of study, at a public hearing Thursday in Chesapeake. No one spoke against the proposal.
The combined reductions should give area residents cleaner air to breathe and further limit the respiratory health risks associated with smog, which is particularly acute with children and the elderly.
The reductions also are just enough to bring the region into compliance with the national Clean Air Act, according to state calculations. To meet the requirements of the law, Hampton Roads must demonstrate that smog emissions will remain the same or decline during at least the next ten years. The state plan uses 1993 levels as its baseline for measuring pollution and extends the program through 2008.
The task of capping emissions is made more difficult given that the projected growth trends between now and 2008 would greatly increase the number of cars, trucks, homes and businesses in Hampton Roads.
In additon, planners had to factor in the federal government's decision to bring more fighter jets to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. With more fighters comes more jet fuel and the potential for more air pollution.
But according to the plan, the daily amount of volatile organic compounds produced will drop to 8.5 tons less than 1993 levels, while nitrogen oxides are projected to fade by less than one ton.
``The story is we're going to get enough reductions that are not obtrusive to get us by,'' said Michael McKenna, director of policy and planning for the state Department of Environmental Quality.
There has been debate about incorporating a voluntary tailpipe inspection program in Hampton Roads, which would identify cars and trucks that produce too much smog and need repairs.
But, as Sydnor said, ``such a program would be an enormous undertaking'' that few residents would likely embrace. ``We didn't feel it was necessary,'' he said.
The plan will be presented this month to the EPA, which then will check its underlying calculations and overall effectiveness. The agency will likely approve it later this year or early in 1997, Sydnor said.
Its presentation Thursday ends a bumpy ride. Local leaders were angered earlier this year after learning Gov. George F. Allen failed to appoint an oversight committee, as required by law, to manage the plan's drafting.
The delay caused Hampton Roads to nervously sit through another summer of possible smog problems. But no violations have occurred.
Richmond, with slightly worse smog conditions, also is petitioning to get off the national list. Its plan has been completed and should be ruled on by the EPA by year's end, officials said. ILLUSTRATION: VP GRAPHIC
BRIGHTER DAYS
SOURCE: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
[For a copy of the chart, see microfilm for this date.]
KEYWORDS: SMOG POLLUTION ENVIRONMENT by CNB