Week 7 at the EPA: Advance

Happy Monday! It’s hard to believe we are already 7 weeks into our PWEs. Time is going by so quickly and I’m trying to absorb as much as I can before the summer is over.

This week was all about Advance. The EPA Advance program is a collaborative effort by the EPA, states, tribes, and local governments to encourage emission reductions in attainment areas nationwide to maintain the NAAQS for ozone and PM. Participation is voluntary, and the EPA offers guidance and support for government entities to develop proactive air quality maintenance plans for their jurisdiction. Currently, there are 38 active participant areas across 21 states and 9 of the 10 EPA Regional Offices. Our very own home state of NC is included in that count, with the NC Department of Environmental Quality participating in both Ozone and PM Advance, and Cumberland County and Mecklenburg County each participating in PM Advance.

The Advance program, as I mentioned before, is unique in that it is voluntary. It does not include any regulatory requirements – participants have the flexibility to design and implement their own air quality control measures and programs. These individual frameworks allow participants to improve their air quality and better position the areas to remain in attainment of the NAAQS. You can read more about the EPA Advance program here.

In addition to my work on Advance, I was also able to attend a briefing with Anne Idsal, the Acting AA for OAR. Members of my team as well as leadership within OAQPS briefed AA Idsal on the latest air quality issues. The briefing was extremely fulfilling, as it was an opportunity to learn, and it also illustrated how impactful my team’s work is. These are not just air quality issues, but national issues that affect hundreds of millions of people, and it is very rewarding to be a part of it.

See you next week!

Sydney