Tag Archives: Fairbanks North Star Borough

Mayor Hopkins revises air quality control plan

From the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Tuesday, April 13, 2010:

Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins revised his air pollution control plan, adding a provision prohibiting dense chimney smoke that creates a nuisance for neighbors.

Hopkins said Monday that he plans to ask for assembly approval in June.

The measure, Ordinance 2010-17, sets limits on chimney smoke opacity, bans the burning of certain materials and imposes fines on the worst polluters starting late next year. The measure also establishes government programs to help people replace old, dirty stoves.

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Heavy stove smoke could net fines in Fairbanks

From The Associated Press, Saturday, February 20, 2010:

A proposed new rule in Fairbanks would fine people at least $300 for using wood- and-coal-fired stoves that belch out dense smoke, part of an attempt to curb air pollution in the area.

The Fairbanks News-Miner reports that Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins is sponsoring the measure, which is a response to federal pressure to bring down pollution levels.

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Phone survey seeks home heating information

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Tuesday, January 26, 2010:

A telephone survey aims to find out how residents of the Fairbanks North Star Borough go about heating their homes.

Borough officials want to use the information to help develop a pollution control plan for PM 2.5, tiny particulates known to embed in the lungs and cause health problems. Wood smoke is believed to be the biggest contributor to the PM 2.5 problem.

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More sunlight equals cleaner Fairbanks air

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Tuesday, January 19, 2010:

Increasing sunlight has helped improve particulate pollution in Fairbanks, according to borough air quality specialist Jim Conner.

The average particulate pollution level in Fairbanks on Monday was 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air, making the air unhealthy for sensitive groups, Conner said.

Earlier this month, daily averages were reaching nearly 100 micrograms of pollution, which made the air unhealthy for everyone.

What changed?

Conner said weather fronts have been more active and there’s more sunlight. Both help diffuse temperature inversions, when a mass of warm air sits on top of cold air, trapping fine particulate pollution known as PM 2.5, which can embed in the lungs and make people sick.

“When the sun comes up, usually the concentrations (of PM 2.5) drop dramatically,” Conner said. “When the sun goes down, the numbers will go up.”

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Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly to debate air quality agreement

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Tuesday, January 12, 2010:

An air quality agreement between the state and borough goes before the Borough Assembly for approval on Thursday.

The agreement provides little detail on how the borough will reduce air pollution but paves the way for an air quality plan led by the municipality instead of the state.

The federal government has put the Fairbanks North Star Borough on notice that levels of a pollutant known as PM 2.5 must be brought down by 2014. Studies show too much exposure to the pollutant can make people sick.

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PORTAL and ACHP to host consumer workshops

Learn how to do or direct your own energy efficient improvements. Attend an informative workshop FREE TO THE PUBLIC! Workshops are brought to you by Alaska Housing Finance Corporation.

The following workshops will be held from 6-8 pm at the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, 1000 Fairbanks Street, near West Valley High School and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Call 907-457-3454 for directions.

February 1, 2010: Building Science Basics

February 2, 2010: Air Tightness

February 3, 2010: Ice Dams

February 4, 2010: Lighting & Appliances

February 8, 2010: Heating & Hot Water

February 9, 2010: Doors & Windows

February 10, 2010: Insulation

February 11, 2010: Ventilation

Fairbanks' vehicle pollution control program ends

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Sunday, January 3, 2010:

An unpopular government program aimed at diminishing toxic vehicle emissions ended on Dec. 31, 2009, after 25 years.

No longer must vehicles in the Fairbanks North Star Borough undergo inspections and emissions tests at a biennial cost to the owner of up to $125. And that was for clean-running vehicles. Motorists whose vehicles failed the tests often had to pay for repairs.

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Report touts pollution solutions for Fairbanks

From the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Thursday, December 17, 2009:

Environmentalists and conservatives have joined forces to help solve air pollution in Fairbanks.

Their report goes before the Fairbanks North Star Borough air pollution control commission today, and one of the recommendations calls on the government to improve access to wood cutting on public lands. The group also calls for the government to provide incentives to people to upgrade their wood stoves and to educate people on the merits of proper wood burning.

Similar recommendations and harsher ones, such as temporary bans on wood burning, have gone before borough officials before. This is the first list of recommendations to come from a broad-based community coalition.

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Fairbanks area power plants produce little air pollution

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Sunday, December 6, 2009:

A study of emissions from the Fairbanks area’s three power plants finds the plants, the most visible polluters, are a minor player when it comes to Fairbanks’ pollution problems.

“They are a contributor, of course they are, but they are not the main one,” said Nicole Mölders, chairwoman of the atmospheric sciences department at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Mölders began studying power plant emissions last winter using mathematical models. She said her findings are preliminary. The final results will be published late next year.

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Rogers: Climate policy not realistic for UAF

From The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Sunday, November 22, 2009:

Hundreds of university chancellors and presidents have signed a pledge to steer their campuses toward a climate neutral policy on greenhouse gas emissions, but don’t expect the University of Alaska Fairbanks to join them anytime soon.

Chancellor Brian Rogers said he’s been asked by students and faculty to sign the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, but he doesn’t think it’s a realistic goal for a campus in an extreme cold-weather environment.

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