Leaders to Convene For Air Quality, Transportation and Land Use Workshop
Contact: Ken Lloyd
Executive Director
Regional Air Quality Council
(303) 629-5450 ext. 250
Leaders to Convene For Air Quality, Transportation and Land Use Workshop
DENVER – On June 4, the Regional Air Quality Council will convene and co-host a meeting of leaders from across the community and the Country to advance the region's understanding of ways to improve air quality, through such efforts as connecting transportation and land use planning – all aimed at reducing vehicle use and Colorado ozone air pollution. The meeting, 9 a.m. at the Oxford Hotel in Denver, is being co-hosted by the office of Gov. Bill Ritter, the Denver Regional Council of Governments, the North Front Range Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Metro Mayors Caucus and sponsored by the Governors' Institute on Community Design. Peers and experts from around the U.S. with experience tackling these issues will participate in this important discussion.
Recognizing a formidable challenge before Colorado, Gov. Ritter has charged the Regional Air Quality Council with developing an effective plan for reducing ozone concentrations along the Front Range. The EPA is expected in August of this year to finalize a requirement that would reduce the 8-hour ozone air quality standard from .075 parts per million to .06-.07 parts per million.
“In order to achieve the new ozone standard, we will need to consider strategies for reducing emissions from stationary sources, such as power plants, transportation vehicles and other sources,” said Gov. Ritter. “This means considering all options for reducing vehicle miles traveled that reduce ozone precursor emissions, including those options involving principles of sustainability and land use, as well as options involving vehicle and fuel technology and industrial air pollution sources.”
Andy Spielman, Regional Air Quality Council Chairman agreed, stating, "We have a big job before us and are eager to hear from our partners here at home and from other communities about creative ways to tackle these tough problems together."
Former Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening, president of the Governor’s Institute on Community Design and Bill Mosher, Managing Director of Trammel Crow in Denver will be among the speakers at the workshop. Ken Weil, Gov. Ritter’s deputy chief of staff for policy and initiatives, will represent the governor at the meeting. Representatives from the oil and gas, automotive, transit and real estate development industries will be present, as well as the environmental community, executive directors from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment, Transportation and Local Affairs, as well as local and regional elected officials.
Topics at the workshop will include “connecting transportation and land use with Clean Air Act planning needs at the regional level” and “how the state can support innovation in transportation and land use planning to meet air quality goals.”
For more information about the Regional Air Quality Council and to access the meeting agenda, visit its Web site at www.raqc.org .
To download a pdf version of this press release, click here.
