BACKGROUND
Poor air quality affects everyone's health. Air pollution comes not just from factories and power plants but also from cars and trucks and from products and services everyone uses.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set air quality standards that New Jersey must meet. Working together with the regulated community and other interested parties can help us to identify the most efficient and effective means to improve air quality.
New Jersey’s air quality on the whole has improved significantly since the Federal Clean Air Act became law 35 years ago. The Garden State has met the health-based standard for carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and lead and has made progress cleaning up other air pollutants. However, New Jersey continues to exceed health-based standards for fine-particle pollution and ozone.
While reducing air pollution from major industries, cars and trucks has improved air quality, new federal standards to address the continuing health threats from ozone and fine-particle pollution require New Jersey to take even more action to protect the health of its residents. The state's plans to achieve these new requirements depend on identifying and implementing additional measures to control air pollution.
 WHAT MUST NEW JERSEY DO NOW?
- 8-Hour Ozone: Submit a plan by June 2007 and meet the health-based standard by 2010
- Fine-Particle Pollution: Submit a plan by April 2008 and meet the annual health-based standard by 2010
- Regional Haze: Submit a preliminary plan by December 2007 to improve visibility at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Brigantine
PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
Failure to meet the air quality standards poses serious health implications:
Fine-Particle Pollution: Every year in New Jersey, exposure to fine-particulate pollution above the current annual standard results in more than 1,000 premature deaths and up to 68,000 asthma attacks.
Ozone: Ozone can cause several harmful health effects, including irritation of the lungs, reduced lung function, aggravation of chronic lung diseases and even death. Attaining the new federal health-based standard for ozone in New Jersey would prevent about 40,000 asthma attacks each year and substantially reduce hospital admissions and emergency-room visits for children and adults with asthma and other respiratory diseases.
 GETTING STARTED
The first step toward reducing air pollution is bringing together the public, representatives from local businesses, industry and environmental groups and others to discuss the air quality challenges facing New Jersey. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) plans to work with all of these interested parties to tackle the problems of air pollution more effectively. This cooperative effort in reducing or controlling air pollutants is critical for the NJDEP to improve air quality and public health and achieve federal requirements.
NJDEP commenced this collaborative effort by hosting a public workshop on Wednesday, June 29, 2005 at the Trenton War Memorial. This workshop served to initiate a dialogue between the NJDEP and interested and affected parties about reducing emissions in order to improve air quality in New Jersey. Over 3000 persons representing various industry, environmental and civic groups were invited to participate in the workshop and over 200 attended.
 AIR QUALITY WORKGROUPS
 Workgroup
Contact Information
At the workshop, workgroups were formed to focus on key sources of emissions resulting in nonattainment of federal air quality standards and to recommend control strategies to reduce these emissions.
The goals of each workgroup were to:
- Identify strategies to achieve emission reductions
- Prioritize reasonable and effective control measures
- Identify implementation issues and potential solutions
- Identify additional sources of data to enhance the state’s database of air pollutants
 The workgroups met over the summer and developed potential air emission control strategies. Reports containing these recommendations for further consideration were submitted to the NJDEP on October 31, 2005. Please find the reports on their respective websites. The workgroups presented a summary of their recommendations for further consideration to the NJDEP Air Quality Management Team on Monday, November 14, 2005 at the NJDEP in Trenton, NJ.
SUMMARY OF NOVEMBER 14, 2005 MEETING
New Jersey’s Air Quality workgroups, formed in June 2005, presented summaries of their recommendations for reducing emissions for further consideration to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Air Quality Management Team on Monday, November 14, 2005 at the NJDEP in Trenton, New Jersey from 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The event provided an opportunity for the NJDEP and workgroup members to discuss the recommendations from the air quality workgroup reports submitted to the NJDEP on October 31, 2005. These reports as well as the workgroup presentations are available online. Please follow the workgroup links in the table above.
Each workgroup participated in an hour-long session that consisted of a presentation and a question-and-answer period. There were 115 participants throughout the day consisting of both workgroup members and non-workgroup members. Each workgroup session provided insightful discussion among representatives from the public, industry, environmental groups, academia, and local, state, and federal government agencies.
The workgroup members were recognized by the NJDEP for their participation in the air quality workgroups by receiving a Certificate of Appreciation from the Commissioner of the NJDEP. Workgroup photographs are posted on the workgroup web pages.
Recommendations will be considered by the NJDEP for possible implementation through regulations or non-regulatory emission reduction measures that would be identified in State Implementation Plans for attainment of the federal standards.
SUMMARY OF MAY 17TH WORKSHOP
The NJDEP provided an update on the State’s efforts to attain and maintain the new federal health-based and visibility standards, including the review of the workgroup recommendations, at the workshop on May 17th, 2006.
Recommendations are always welcome on how to improve communication with the public and key audiences about present and future efforts to improve air quality, public health and the environment in New Jersey.
Click on an individual workgroup name or symbol to go to that workgroup's web page to obtain additional information about past meetings, findings and recommendations.
Air Quality Workgroup Mission Statements
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Workgroup Name |
Workgroup Mission |
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To recommend potential ways to control and/or reduce emissions from diesel engines. Topics include onroad vehicles (all categories - Light Duty Diesel Vehicles (LDDVs), Medium Duty Diesel Vehicles (MDDVs) and Heavy Duty Diesel Vehicles (HDDVs)), nonroad equipment (e.g. construction equipment), commercial marine vessels (ships), locomotives and stationary diesel engines. Discussion topics include use of fuels that would reduce emissions, as well as retrofit technologies and idling strategies. |
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To recommend potential ways to control and/or reduce emissions from gasoline-fueled motor vehicles and trucks (including SUVs and heavier trucks) and their use. This includes inspection and maintenance as well as transportation control measures. |
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To recommend potential ways to control and/or reduce emissions from the varied sources of combustion used by homeowners and restaurants. Topics include wood burning, space heating, energy efficiency, and emissions from restaurant operations. |
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To recommend potential ways to control and/or reduce emissions from gasoline engines other than those used in cars and trucks. Topics include engines used on outboard pleasure craft and in lawnmowers. |
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To recommend potential ways to control and/or reduce emissions from facilities identified as stationary sources of combustion, including both Electric Generating Units (EGUs) and non-EGUs. The focus will be on NOx, SO2, VOC and particulate emissions. |
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To recommend potential ways to control and/or reduce VOC emissions from various chemical products and/or processes. Topics include all consumer products (from paints and deodorants to gas cans) as well as industrial processes. |
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT:
Related Information on Air Quality
FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ON AIR QUALITY:
Email DEP at airworkshop@dep.state.nj.us or call the Bureau of Air Quality Planning at: (609) 292-6722
The contents of the workgroup webpages represent their efforts and discussions and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the NJDEP. |
