You can eliminate air quality "conformity" from the list of tests challenging the region's transportation planning. All of the alternatives evaluated for Destination 2030, the region's comprehensive transportation plan, now appear to be well within healthy limits, based on new guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency updating assumptions used to forecast air quality.

Credit for the timely update, which is unique to the central Puget Sound region, goes to extensive coordination among the Regional Council, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and the local and national offices of EPA. The new guidance reflects the fact that cleaner fuels and cleaner engines are producing fewer emissions than what has been reflected in previous EPA formulas.

For carbon monoxide, 90 percent of which is generated by motor vehicles, the region now appears to be well within its budget for the next 30 years -- even as we grow by 1.5 million people and driving increases from 77 million to 117 million miles per day. Previous calculations for Destination 2030 showed the region exceeding its carbon monoxide budget by as much as 22 percent.

The old forecasts were a concern because the law requires that the region's long-range plans live within air pollution budgets as a condition of receiving funding from the Federal Transit Administration and the Federal Highway Administration.

The EPA's new guidance not only demonstrates that Destination 2030 will pass the conformity test, it will also help specific transportation projects that require carbon monoxide analysis.

Ozone, Fine Particles, Toxics

While transportation planners can breathe easier about carbon monoxide, there is still no cause for universal glee about the purity of our air. Clean air experts say the region faces three other major air quality challenges, all of which bear a major relationship to the 77 million miles we motor each day.

Ozone: Ozone is a component of smog. It rises to unhealthy levels on the hottest summer days when temperatures are in the high 80s and above. For the past two summers the region has been within one day of exceeding federal ozone standards -- an event which would trigger negative consequences, including the potential risk of losing federal transportation funding for many highway projects. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has a game plan to keep ozone within healthy levels. It includes the summer "Smog Watch" program and agreements with oil refiners and suppliers for special smog-reducing gasoline during summer months. The agency is also completing a stakeholder process that will recommend additional smog-reducing strategies. The agency has targeted additional reductions of 5 to 15 percent to give the region a greater margin of safety.

Fine Particles: Microscopic particles -- 2.5 microns in size, or smaller (PM 2.5) -- can irritate lungs, trigger asthma attacks and lead to premature death. Thousands of these particles could fit on the period at the end of this sentence. They are produced by indoor and outdoor burning and diesel fuel combustion. The Clean Air Agency's Board of Directors has adopted a PM 2.5 goal recommended by health experts that is even more aggressive than those established by EPA. Cost effective strategies for controlling PM 2.5 include further reductions in indoor and outdoor burning, switching wood burning devices to natural gas, retrofitting diesel engines and lobbying for cleaner diesel fuels.

Toxics: Some toxic gases that are a significant public health concern exist in relatively high quantities in the region. For instance, benzene concentrations in central Puget Sound are among the highest in the nation. The sources of toxics, which have been linked to cancer, include fuel evaporation, gasoline and diesel engine combustion, chemical reactions, engine wear and impurities in gasoline. Strategies include cleaner burning engines and cleaner burning fuels.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is currently raising awareness about these three significant air quality issues facing the region. Strategies for improving all three types of air pollution often overlap, producing multiple benefits, including visibility improvements. To find out more, check out Clean Air's web site -- www.pscleanair.org -- or call (206) 343-8800 or toll-free 800-552-3565,

The BLUE chart shows how the DEIS alternatives for Destination 2030 performed under the assumptions approved by EPA prior to December 2000. The BLACK chart is an estimate of how the alternatives perform under the new assumptions approved by EPA. The alternatives still vary by as much as 120 million grams of carbon monoxide per day, but all alternatives are now well within the budget.

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WATCH FOR IT

KING 5 Teams Up with Regional Council to Spotlight Destination 2030 Plan

KING 5 news anchor Dennis Bounds will talk about the region's Destination 2030 transportation plan in a series of public service announcements scheduled to begin this month on Channel 5. Bounds will highlight plans underway to make traffic better, and encourage viewers to find out more by visiting the KING 5 Web site (king5.com) and linking to the Regional Council's Web site (psrc.org).

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Executive Board Appointments Due January 17

This month Regional Council members will be asked to appoint or reappoint their representatives and alternates on the Executive Board and Operations Committee. A letter requesting appointments was mailed to member jurisdictions the first week of January.

The 26-member Executive Board carries out the delegated powers and responsibilities of the Regional Council between meetings of the General Assembly. The Operations Committee, composed of 10 members selected from the Executive Board, reviews and makes recommendations to the Executive Board on the budget and work program, and on contracts and other financial and personnel issues.

The Council's Bylaws require that members also select alternates for Board representatives, to ensure that members have a vote on major decisions at all Executive Board and Operations Committee meetings. As specified in the Interlocal Agreement, representation on the Executive Board is proportional to the region's population.

Appointments and/or reappointments are due by January 17. For a listing of the current representatives on the Executive Board and Operations Committee, or for other information, call Sylvia Nelson at (206) 464-7518.

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Somers to Chair Growth Management Policy Board

Snohomish County Councilmember Dave Somers has been named Chair of the Growth Management Policy Board of the Puget Sound Regional Council. Councilmember Somers was appointed Chair of the Board by Regional Council President Bob Edwards and the Executive Board.

The Growth Management Policy Board includes representatives of the region's counties, cities and towns, as well as regional business, labor, civic and environmental groups. The board meets monthly to make recommendations on key growth management issues. A major focus this year is the update of the region's transportation plan, Destination 2030.

Somers represents the 5th County Council District in the southeastern portion of the county, including the cities of Snohomish, Monroe, Sultan, Gold Bar, Index and portions of Lake Stevens and Bothell.

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Over the last few months, the Regional Council's Transportation and Growth Management Policy Boards have been working to develop a final draft plan based on public and technical review of different options for the plan. The schedule for finalizing the plan is shown below.

January 25...................	Executive Board progress report on Destination 2030
February 2...................	Preliminary draft Destination 2030 plan mailed to Policy Boards and Regional Staff Committee
February 8...................	Policy Boards review preliminary draft plan
February 21.................	Regional Staff Committee reviews/recommends to Policy Boards
February 22.................	Executive Board briefing on preliminary draft Destination 2030 plan
March 8.......................	Policy Boards recommend draft final plan to Executive Board
March 14....................	Final draft Destination 2030 plan and draft final EIS available to public
March 22....................	Executive Board workshop on Destination 2030
March 29.....................	General Assembly workshop on Destination 2030
April 10.......................	Public hearing on final draft Destination 2030
April 26.......................	Executive Board recommends final Destination 2030 plan to General Assembly
May 3.........................	Final proposed Destination 2030 plan and final EIS mailed to General Assembly members and public
May 24.........................	General Assembly action on Destination 2030

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