The Air Pollution Control Commission will hold a meeting Tuesday, May 22, 2012, in the Borough Assembly Chambers at the Borough Administration Center, located at 809 Pioneer Road, at 6:30 pm. Up for discussion is the review of the application and process for a variance for hydronic heater installation requirements. See you there!
Click to view APCC mtg agenda 5-22-12 (13)
Click to view APPC Proposed Variance App for OHHs (4)
Events | Posted April 25, 2012
If you burn wood to heat your home or business NOW is the time to make sure you Split, Stack, Store & Save so you have a good supply of firewood for the next heating season. Research conducted by the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) “clearly demonstrated that it is possible to dry firewood cut in the spring in Fairbanks over a single summer to moisture content levels that optimize wood burning efficiency and minimize emissions. This finding deserves some caution in generalizing to all locations in the Fairbanks vicinity, as the wood was stored in an open field with minimal obstruction of solar radiation and air movement.” The goal is to have firewood that is 20% or less moisture for the best efficiency and least emissions.
Best Burn Practices (27) to read the full report by CCHRC
Events | Posted March 19, 2012
Unable to make it to the Borough Assembly work session meeting last week but want to see the presentation? You’re in luck!
Click HERE to see the presentation
Click HERE for the audio — Skip ahead about an hour to the start of the presentation.
Events | Posted February 10, 2012
If you weren’t able to make it to the Air Pollution Control Commission meeting that took place on 1-31-12 you can now listen to the audio. In order to make it a little bit easier to download we have split the audio into 5 smaller files, as follows …
1) Introduction through AQIP update (25 mins) CLICK HERE
2) Discussion of proposed ordinance 2012-09 (24 mins) CLICK HERE
3) Public Comment (45 mins) CLICK HERE
4) APCC Discussion (39 mins) CLICK HERE
5) APCC Recommendation & Closing comments (21 mins) CLICK HERE
Events | Posted January 25, 2012
There will be an Air Pollution Control Commission meeting Tuesday, January 31st, in the Borough Administration Center Chambers (809 Pioneer Rd), at 6:30 p.m. FNSB Ordinance 2012-09 will be up for discussion. Download the APCC Mtg Agenda 1-31-12 (57) or the Proposed FNSB Ord 2012-09 (58).
Events | Posted January 4, 2012
The Fairbanks North Star Borough will be holding 2 public information meetings next week on Air Quality . The first meeting will be held on January 9th from 3 to 5pm at the Borough Administrative Center (BAC) located at 809 Pioneer Road in Fairbanks. Come and listen to the most recent update on PM2.5 air quality information in Fairbanks resulting from the collaborative efforts of the EPA, State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC), and FNSB officials. The presentation will include recent PM2.5 findings and the progress on the State Implementation Plan (SIP) and EPA timeline.
The second one will be January 11th from 6pm to 8pm, also at the BAC. Come and participate in a discussion forum to hear the most recent update on PM2.5 air quality information in Fairbanks from the collaborative works of the EPA, State of Alaska DEC, and FNSB. Brief presentations will include recent research findings on local studies conducted by researchers from Montana, Massachusetts, Missouri, California, Maryland, Penn State, Alaska, and other research experts. Progress on the Air Quality Plan and EPA timeline will be discussed. Then, representatives from EPA, State of Alaska DEC, FNSB and research experts will be available for a Q & A discussion.
Please join us for both of these events and get your questions answered.
Events | Posted November 3, 2011
All open burning of brush, wood, etc. (including the use of burn barrels), in the most heavily populated areas of the Fairbanks North Star Borough is PROHIBITED during this time. Areas affected by the ban include the City of Fairbanks, Ft. Wainwright and North Pole (see map below or for a high resolution pdf click on the map). This ban does not include cooking or warming fires or the use of incinerators.
If you live outside the burn ban area and are planning to conduct an open burn, please help minimize the impact of the smoke on yourself and your neighbors by calling the forecast number listed below for dispersion conditions and burn only when dispersion conditions are good.
For more information contact Borough Air Quality staff at 459-1005 or email us at airquality@fnsb.us.
Events | Posted October 21, 2011
The Fairbanks North Star Borough and Alaska departments of Environmental Conservation and Health and Social Services are sponsoring a workshop on air pollution and public health. The workshop will take place Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor Center, 101 Dunkel St. in downtown Fairbanks.
The workshop will focus on the health effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the Fairbanks North Star Borough and surrounding communities. These particles, which are approximately 1/30th the width of a human hair, pose health risks because they can lodge deeply into the lungs.
Paul Garbe and Rachel Kossover from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga., and Jim Conner of the Fairbanks North Star Borough will make presentations. A question-and-answer session will take place following the presentations, and presenters will be available for individual questions and discussion as well.
“A recent study conducted on PM2.5 in Fairbanks has shown the significant effect these tiny particles can have on the health of people in the area,” said Kossover, who co-authored the study while working in Alaska with the CDC. “Increased hospital visits, especially by the elderly, are shown to occur when PM2.5 levels rise. We’d like to get local input on the problem.”
To view the state Epidemiology bulletin “Association between Air Quality and Hospital Visits – Fairbanks, 2003-2008,” go to:
http://www.epi.hss.state.ak.us/bulletins/docs/b2010_26.pdf
Click HERE For Event Agenda
Events | Posted April 28, 2011
Click the link below to read/listen to an interview about the Borough’s “Split, Stack, Store & Save” campaign that aired on Alaska Public Radio Network Friday April 22, 2011.
Fairbanks Officials Urge Wood-Burning Residents to Begin Next Winter’s Preparations.
Events | Posted April 21, 2011
The FNSB is beginning to roll out a “SPLIT, STACK, STORE & SAVE” Campaign to remind residents who burn wood to start getting their wood ready now for next winter. SPLIT the wood in half at least once. Your wood should be less than two feet in length. STACK in a pile to allow for adequate air flow. STORE your wood for six months to two years in an area exposed to the sun; cover the top of the pile. SAVE money and our air. Burning dry wood means your fire burns hotter so you burn less wood.
Have you heard the radio ads? They have been running on multiple stations since April 1st. Click HERE to listen to the Split, Stack, Store, Save! Radio Ad.
There is also a nice informational brochure. Click Split, Stack, Store & Save Brochure (171) to view it … or stop by the office to pick one up.
There will be an Air Pollution Control Commission meeting Tuesday, March 15th, in the main hall of the Pioneer Park Civic Center, at 6:30 p.m. The recently proposed FNSB Ordinance 2011-12 will be up for discussion. Download the PCC agenda 3-15-11 (101) or the Prooposed FNSB Ordinance 2011-12 (153).
Events | Posted December 17, 2010
Another Air Pollution Control Commission meeting has been scheduled for Monday, December 27th, 2010, in the main hall of the Pioneer Park Civic Center, at 6:30 p.m. There will be further discussion of proposed Code Amendments as a result of Proposition A and a possible change to the definition and exclusion of Pellet fuel-burning appliances. Download the PCC Agenda 12-27-10 (125) or the Proposed Code Amendment 12-27-10 (146).
Events | Posted December 2, 2010
The Air Pollution Control Commission meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday, December 8th, 2010, in the Borough Assembly Chambers at the Borough Administration Center, located at 809 Pioneer Road, at 6:30 p.m. There will be a discussion of proposed Code Amendments as a result of Proposition A and a possible change to the definition and exclusion of Pellet fuel-burning appliances. Download the AGENDA or the Proposed Code Amendment (192).
Can’t come to the meeting? Tune in to KUAC FM89.9 to listen live.
Events | Posted November 17, 2010
The Air Pollution Control Commission is meeting on Monday, November 22nd, 2010, in the Borough Assembly Chambers at the Borough Administration Center, located at 809 Pioneer Road, at 6:30 p.m. There will be a discussion of proposed Code Amendments as a result of Proposition A and a possible change to the definition and exclusion of Pellet fuel-burning appliances. Download the PCC Agenda 11-22-10 (122) or the Proposed Code Amendment (192).
This meeting will be broadcast live through KUAC 89.9 FM.
The Borough Assembly passed Ordinance 2010-28 on a 5-3 vote early this morning to create a PM2.5 Air Quality Control Program in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. After hearing three hours of public testimony, assembly members debated multiple amendments to the ordinance. Among the amendments adopted by the assembly are ones that raise the allowable chimney smoke opacity from 30 to 50 percent, and reduce fines for violators tenfold. Fines will start at $30 instead of $300. Other changes pushed back the date the Ordinance will become effective by 30 days to give the Borough time to fill in details of the program.
In the words of former Congressman Tip O’Neill, “all politics is local.” This is true except when it isn’t — as when the federal government imposes its will on us without input from the local community and without consideration of the unique aspects of our environment or our economy. Fairbanks is in a unique position to tailor new federal PM2.5 air quality mandates to our needs and conditions. Or we can choose to have a federal agency do the planning and enforcement for us. We can decide or we can let others do it for us. The choice is ours.
Mayor Hopkins shared his opinion in today’s Fairbanks News Miner that we should pass this locally designed program rather than wait for the federal government to impose a solution on Fairbanks. The borough assembly will hold a public hearing on the proposed program on Thursday evening. Please come out and let the assembly hear your opinion. Should we adopt this local option or take our chances with a federal program?
The public hearing on the air quality ordinance is scheduled for June 10. The public hearing portion of the meeting starts at 7:00 p.m., and Ordinance 2010-28 is the last item on the public hearing agenda. Still, the borough clerk’s office recommends arriving no later than 7:30 p.m. if you want to testify. If the assembly votes on the ordinance on June 10th, the earliest it could be adopted into code is the end of the day of June 11. Assembly Agenda
The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly will have a work session on June 3rd to discuss the proposed air quality ordinance and ask questions of borough staff and officials from Alaska DEC. The public may listen to the discussion live during the work session or to an listen to audio of the discussion after the event: Part I (63 min) | Part 2 (28 min) | Part 3 (43 min).
The Fairbanks North Star Borough will be sponsoring two more Air Quality Information Open Houses on May 18 and 19, 2010. For those who missed the Fairbanks and North Pole open houses in April, these will provide another opportunity to learn about the science and health effects of PM2.5, to find out what the proposed ordinance would and would not do, to get more details about the voluntary wood stove replacement program, and to get your own questions answered by the people who are most knowledgeable about these issues. (more…)
Events | Posted April 15, 2010
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Air Quality Information Open Houses this week. The dialogue was respectful, and there were lots of good questions addressed to our Q&A panel. We will post both questions and answers as soon as we have a chance to transcribe them. Check back next week (the week of April 19).
More questions were answered throughout the evening by individual experts at the information stations set up on a variety of topics, including the science and health impacts of PM2.5, the proposed ordinance, the voluntary wood stove replacement program, the federal timeline, and good wood burning practices.
For those who missed the events, all the information presented on these topics will be posted here, as well as copies of most of the handouts that were available. If you would like to comment on the proposed ordinance or any other aspect of the PM2.5 air quality issue in Fairbanks, please use the comment form.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough is sponsoring air quality information open houses on Tuesday April 13 and Wednesday, April 14th. Experts will be on hand to discuss the new air quality ordinance, the health impacts of PM2.5, the voluntary wood stove replacement program, the science of PM2.5, and more. Download the flyer (more…)
