Climate plan to reduce area air pollutants From the cover
2019 vehicle emissions
What’s happening
About the plan
Vehicle emissions make up about 43% of emissions in the region. The plan used 2019 as the baseline year for these estimates—the most recent data available.
Tarrant County Commissioner Gary Fickes, whose Precinct 3 includes Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake, signed a letter of support for the plan last year. He said poor air quality can cause restrictions to be placed on construction projects. “[Improving air quality] can really benefit us if we do it right,” Fickes said. Despite improvements made over the past 20-30 years, North Texas is still not meeting the attainment standard for ground-level ozone set by the EPA, Nance said. Population growth may have contributed to stalls in air quality improvement. One result of being out of the attainment stan- dard is that while most Texas residents will benefit
The plan covers the next five years and has 42 actionable measures, Nance said. These measures include initiatives related to funding infrastructure for low-emission and electric vehicles, incentivizing commercial and industrial solar projects, and promoting clean energy finance programs. If all measures from the plan are fully implemented, the region could see a reduction in ground-level ozone, which has been rising in North Texas. Ground-level ozone is a harmful air pollutant and the main ingredient of smog, per the EPA. Health problems coming from ground-level ozone include coughing, breathing difficulty and lung damage. It can also increase the risk of death from lung disease, according to the EPA. Those at a greater risk include people with pre-existing conditions, such as asthma or chronic bronchitis, said Dr. Kari Northeim, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.
Denton County 3.48M
NOTE: CALCULATION RESULTS ARE GIVEN IN CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT EMISSIONS IN METRIC TONS.
Collin County 4.39M
Tarrant County 9.48M
Dallas County 14.64M
SOURCE: NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
next year from House Bill 3297, which exempts drivers from getting their vehicles inspected, Tarrant County will continue to require this.
Populations at risk
Why it matters
Some of Tarrant County’s population of 2.15 million people are more vulnerable to illnesses and death from exposure to ozone or other types of air pollution.
Dr. Carolyn Helbert-Green moved her practice Colleyville Vision Associates to a new building, which she and her husband, Revvie Green, designed. The building is the first in Colleyville to earn a gold certification for leadership in energy and environmental design, also known as LEED, by the U.S. Green Building Council. Green said he wanted to show how a small business can reduce emissions to help improve the community. Northeim said clean air is associated with good health because clean air means it is free of pollutants that can cause irritations in the respira- tory tract. Better local air quality can improve the health of the population, she said. New studies suggest air pollution may influence diabetes and high blood pressure, she said.
Adults age 65 and older: 265,948 Children under age 18: 543,108
Adults with asthma: 125,852 Pediatric asthma: 34,509
The plan addresses emissions and air quality improvement measures across five sectors.
1 Transportation
SOURCE: AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION/COMMUNITY IMPACT
2 Solid waste management
Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake all have policies in place to help protect trees from devel- opment, as the EPA website states trees are one way to help reduce ground-level ozone. “[Trees] facilitate water [evaporation], oxygen production and carbon dioxide absorption, combating air pollution,” Southlake’s Landscape Administrator Keith Martin said in an email.
3 Agriculture, forestry and land use
5 Water, wastewater and watershed
4 Energy
SOURCE: NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
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