Air Quality Management System March 2011

1. Air Quality Management SystemMarch 2011

2. National Initiatives • CCME oversees national air quality initiatives such as the development of Canada-Wide Standards for criteria air contaminants and acid rain • CCME has also overseen the reduction of ozone depleting substances • CCME will now be the mechanism for developing and approving the national Air Quality Management System

3. Canada-Wide Standards • Province became signatory to Canada-wide Standards (CWS) for PM2.5 and Ozone in June 2000 • PM2.5 CWS of 30 mg/m3 (24h)* • Ozone CWS of 65 ppb (8h)** • Province responsible for achieving the CWS by 2010 • Province also responsible for meeting provisions for Continuous Improvement (CI) and Keeping Clean Areas Clean (KCAC) in areas where air quality is better than the CWS * Annual 98th percentile, averaged over 3 consecutive years ** 4th highest daily maximum, averaged over 3 consecutive years

4. CWS Status • Based on 2007-2009 data from all continuously monitored sites: • No sites exceeded the Canada-wide Standard (CWS) for PM2.5 • Several interior communities in range of 20-30 mg/m3 • No sites exceeded the CWS for ozone, but Hope has exceeded standard in past and continues to have highest levels in province • For most BC communities, focus is on continuous improvement and keeping clean areas clean

7. History & Context • Air Quality under pressure; public concern • Strong domestic action needed for negotiations with U.S. • Continuing federal, provincial and territorial commitment to regulatory action on air pollution • 2007 – Turning the Corner • 2008 – Clean Air Regulatory Agenda • 2009 – Clean Air Management System • 2010 – Air Quality Management System

8. CAMS • Objectives • Protect human health and the environment • Position Canada internationally • Approach • Comprehensive - includes all sources of pollutants • Focus on ambient air quality – keeping clean areas clean, continuous improvement • Assurance of action • Public Reporting

9. Key Elements & Process • Base Level Industrial Requirements (BLIERS) • National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAQS) • Local Air Zone/Regional Air Shed Management • CAMS consultations with Industry, ENGOs, Environment Canada, Health Canada • 5 Working Groups: BLIERS (What), BLIERS (How), Air Zone Management and Regional Air Sheds, NAQS, Assurance

10. CCME Engagement • Council of Ministers, Feb & Oct 2009 • Endorsed the three interrelated broad elements • Supported further work • Extended timeline to March 2010 • October 2010 • Direct staff to continue development of key elements with deliverables in 2011 • Implementation by 2013 • Re-name it Air Quality Management System

11. AQMS • Retains three key elements: • National emission standards for large industrial sectors • ambient air quality standards for PM2.5 and ozone • Implementation through air zone and regional airshed management plans • In addition, work will proceed on: • Monitoring and emission inventories • Stakeholder engagement framework • Single window reporting approach

12. Base Level Industrial Emission Requirements • BLIERS are intended to ensure a good level of performance by industry across Canada • Intent: P/T application of BLIERS by their regulations, permits or approvals • Some jurisdictions will look to the federal government to regulate the BLIERS • Implications for BC: • 32 BC facilities included in BLIERS current scope – excluding Upstream Oil and Gas (UOG) • 133 BC permits may be affected

13. BC Engagement • Staff from MoE & Energy & Mines are tracking BLIERS development for the following sectors: • Pulp and Paper (Ben Vander Steen, MoE) • Equipment Boilers and Heater (Ben) • Pipelines (Richard Caesar, E&M) • Upstream Oil and Gas (Richard) • If you have any questions about other sectors, contact Ben and he can find out the status

14. Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards • CAAQS will be developed for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and ozone initially, replacing the current Canada-Wide Standards • The development of the CAAQS for SO2, NO2 and CO will be initiated in 2012 and are expected to be in place by 2015. • CAAQS will be the targets for air quality management in air zones and regional airsheds • CAAQS will be reviewed and strengthened over time

15. Population Exposure Improvement • Significant shift from CWS determinations • Estimates percentage of population protected/exposed at an ambient level • Develops scenarios to determine what ambient levels must be achieved to expand protection of a greater percentage of the population • Developing 5 & 10 percent improvement scenarios: • - O3 (8hr) 60-62 ppb • - PM2.5 (24hr) 28-29 µg/m3 • - PM2.5 (annual) 10-12 µg/m3

16. Proposed Regional Air Sheds

17. Air Zones & Regional Airsheds • Primary delivery mechanism for AQMS • Regional airsheds will be administered by the federal govern, focus is to improve transboundary cooperation • Air zones will be delineated by provinces within their boundaries • Provinces will develop management strategies for air zones • Modeled on airshed planning approach in BC and Alberta • Enables comprehensive approach to achieving ambient standards

18. Triggers • Four colour coded triggers proposed under CAMS, with a: • Corresponding qualitative description of air quality • General description of the trigger (without a detailed description of how they would be set) • Number of management recommendations for suggested action under each of the trigger levels

19. Provincial Position • The province supports: • the creation of national industrial emission standards; • efforts to create consistent air quality standards across Canada, particularly in relation to ambient air quality • Area-based air quality management • further development of the necessary reporting infrastructure to ensure that an efficient and effective national approach is developed