Bi-State to broaden air quality group

CLICK HERE for the top 20 point source emitters of PM 2.5 in Scott and Muscatine counties.

The Bi-State Regional Commission is in the process of broadening membership on its Air Quality Task Force in the wake of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's finding that most of Rock Island, Scott and Muscatine counties are in non-compliance with air standards for fine particulate matter.

The task force was formed 10 years ago as a subcommittee of Bi-State's QC Urban Transportation Policy Committee and had been primarily concerned with ground-level ozone pollution in the metropolitan QC area.

It stated mission is to: maintain attainment for National Ambient Air Quality Standards through voluntary emission reduction measures; provide for communication between public and private entities on these voluntary emission reduction measures by sharing experiences and knowledge; and support individual and group voluntary measures/activities such as public education, and mobile/stationary source reduction initiatives.

For a complete list of the group's "voluntary measures and activities," CLICK HERE.

More than 40 percent of the current task force members are from industries and industry lobbying groups including many of the largest PM 2.5 emitters in the three-county area. Another 40 percent of the task force members are representatives of state, local and federal governmental agencies.

Here is the full list of agencies and organizations represented on the task force: City of Rock Island,City of Silvis, City of Wilton, DavenportOne, Deere & Company, Environmental Division of Rock Island Arsenal, Environmental Health Specialist of Scott County Health Department, Genesis Health System, Gerdau Ameristeel, Grain Processing Corp, Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Henry County Health Department, Henry County Highway Department, Iowa Department of Economic Development, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency-Division of Air Pollution Control, Illinois Bicycle League, Illinois Department of Transportation, Urban Program Planning-Illinois QC Chamber of Commerce, Iowa Department of Natural Resources Energy Bureau, Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa Waste Exchange, Iowa Waste Reduction Center, Kraft Foods of North America, KVF Quad Corporation, Lafarge Corporation (Davenport Cement), Linwood Mining & Mineral, Mercer County Board, MetroLINK, MidAmerican Energy, Midway Oil Company, Muscatine County, Muscatine Power & Water, Nichols Aluminum, Preston Engineering Inc., Quad City Conservation Alliance, Quad City Development Group, Quad City Health Initiative, River Bend Transit, Rock Island County Board, Rock Island County Health Dept., Scott Community College, Scott County, Sears Manufacturing Company, Sivyer Steel Corporation, SSAB/IPSCO Steel Inc., St. Ambrose University, Tri-City Building & Construction Trades Council, Tri-City Heat, Trinity Health System, US EPA Region 7, and Williams, White and Company.

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