DEC to hold community meetings on community air monitoring initiative progress

Opportunities for public input and review of work underway

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) on Wednesday announced four meetings to provide progress updates for communities participating in the 2022-23 statewide community air monitoring initiative.

A press release explained, “Mobile air monitoring began in July 2022 in Manhattan, the Capital Region, the Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Tonawanda area, and the Bronx. DEC held the first round of update meetings for these communities in December 2022. This next round of meetings will continue DEC’s efforts gathering community input to targeting emission sources and developing future strategies to reduce air pollution in these communities, including the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.”

At these meetings, DEC staff will discuss the ongoing statewide initiative and present a preliminary overview of the second quarter of air monitoring results specific to each community. Information presented will include how and where the air monitoring is conducted at the street level, and how DEC will compile and analyze the data to identify potential contributors of emissions for each pollutant being monitored. Preliminary data collection is now underway and results will be provided once additional information is compiled.

DEC will also provide an update on development of community advisory committees to provide further opportunities for local stakeholder engagement throughout this initiative, as well as New York state’s development of an economywide cap-and-invest program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and invest the proceeds of emissions auctions to support the state’s transition to cleaner energy sources. DEC will continue to hold regular meetings over the next year to update communities on the progress of the air monitoring and to provide a forum for input. Staff from DEC's division of air resources and the office of environmental justice will be available to answer questions and respond to feedback.

The next round of meetings for the other six communities that are part of this initiative – Brooklyn, Queens, Hempstead/New Cassel/Roosevelt/Uniondale/Westbury, Mount Vernon/Younkers/New Rochelle, Rochester and Syracuse – are being planned for May. Additional update meetings for the Bronx, Manhattan, Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Tonawanda area, and Capital Region are expected to be held in June. 

•Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Tonawanda 

√ When: Wednesday, March 29, at 6 p.m.

√ Link to join meeting: https://meetny.webex.com/meetny/j.php?MTID=m5dc78ca7bc4c89a67613801fd0552eab

√ Meeting number: 161 916 1371

√ Meeting password: CPspkuzY873

√ Call-in number to join by phone only: 518-549-0500

For more information about the community air monitoring initiative, visit the DEC website at https://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/125320.html.

DEC added, “Interpreter services shall be made available to deaf persons, and translator services shall be made available to persons with limited English proficiency, at no charge for either service, upon written request. Requests should be received 10 calendar days before each meeting, but DEC will make every effort to fulfill requests received closer to the meeting date. Requests can be directed to the NYSDEC Office of Communication Services, either by mail (address: NYSDEC, Office of Communication Services, 625 Broadway, Albany, New York 12233-4500), by telephone (518-402-8044) or by email ([email protected]).”