Clean Air in the News

The Charlotte region has more work to do to combat traffic-generated air pollution as it nears a 2010 cleanup deadline, an advocacy law firm said Thursday.

Levels of ground-level ozone, which can aggravate asthma, are falling as new state and federal anti-pollution laws take effect.

But the eight-county region still has a regulatory problem: It's on the bubble in meeting federal ozone standards. And the problem would only grow if the Environmental Protection Agency lowers the ozone threshold, as its science advisers recommend.

"Basically, it's a plan for dirty air into the foreseeable future," said David Farren of the Southern Environmental Law Center in Chapel Hill.

The center filed suit over pollution problems in Atlanta, winning a 1999 settlement that shifted $300 million from highway projects to bike paths and other alternatives.

The American Lung Association ranks Charlotte the 16th most ozone-polluted metro area. Atlanta ties for 25th.

Mecklenburg County's air also has high levels of fine particles, from sources such as diesel exhaust, but hasn't been declared in violation of that federal standard. Particles have been linked to heart and lung problems and premature deaths.

The law center credits Charlotte-Mecklenburg for promoting alternative transportation, increasing transit ridership and financing a business-based program that promotes commuting options such as carpooling.

Despite those efforts, it's hard to overcome the ever-increasing miles that local drivers travel.

The center recommends increasing regional approaches, such as combining the four transportation planning organizations and assessing the impact on the region's air by major developments such as malls.

While harried suburbanites would disagree, the center said expanding road capacity in outlying areas isn't a solution. It argued that money is best spent on light rail, high-occupancy vehicle and bike lanes and incentives to use transit.