10 OVERVIEW AIR QUALITY WATER RESOURCE QUALITY AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE SUMMARY: ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS & CONCERNS ISSUES OBJECTIVES & TOOLS Environmental Quality 10 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY consumption of resources, the pollution of waterways, verview congestion, and stress created by urban sprawl. Environmental O The 2025 Plan is based on sound principles of sustainability Quality Gastonia’s natural environment and features help define its and offers a reasonable direction toward enhancing Goal quality of life and are linked to both social and economic the City’s environmental quality and livability. Over the facets of the community. The presence of clean air, water, long term, efforts to prevent pollution, increase energy and soil is important to maintain people’s health as well as efficiency and conserve water will produce economic Maintain a healthy to promote a healthy business environment. Therefore, the benefits. Some of the Plan’s other elements include and attractive natural conservation of Gastonia’s natural resources will help to goals and policies addressing how environmental values ensure that future residents and businesses have resources environment that specifically relate to the topics covered in those elements. necessary for the community’s continued vitality. For instance, the Land Use element includes policies supports clean air, governing development near environmentally critical water and soil, and The Environmental Quality element provides a policy basis areas such as wetlands and stream corridors, and the recognizes the need to for the protection and enhancement of Gastonia’s natural Transportation element addresses possible environmental environment. While the Environmental Quality element impacts and improvements associated with transportation provide a good quality contains policies that relate directly to many aspects of choices. Environmental stewardship is a core value of of life, helps to maintain the natural environment, the concept of environmental this Plan, and it plays an integral role in guiding how the property values, and protection and preservation is integrated into all aspects City accommodates growth and provides services. The of the Comprehensive Plan. City can protect environmental quality by ensuring its promotes tourism land use policies, codes, and standards are up-to-date while allowing new ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY with contemporary best management practices; that it development. Environmental sustainability means the prudent use of is compliant with state and federal environmental laws physical qualities which are most valued in the natural and administrative rules; and, that it leads by example environment without compromising the ability of future in employing environmentally sound and sustainable generations to meet their needs. It implies preserving, practices in its municipal operations. Furthermore, the conserving, and intensively managing resources City also has an opportunity to inform its citizens on how to minimize the impact of development on the changes in daily life can improve environmental quality environment. It also means ensuring that all residents live through our quarterly newsletter communications, and in areas free from the unhealthy effects of environmental other outreach opportunities. This element of the 2025 Plan pollution. Gastonia’s challenge for the future will be to contains broad environmental goals and policies. accommodate growth while slowing the loss of land, the Environmental Quality 10-1 GASTONIA 2025 Comprehensive Plan This plan recognizes that the suitability of land for conservation The Division of Air Quality (DAQ), of the N.C. Department or development is influenced by topography, geology, and of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR),) is soils; surface water and groundwater resources; wildlife and responsible for protecting North Carolina’s air quality by its habitat; flood hazards; and, air quality. One is related to issuing permits, developing programs, and monitoring the other, and as an urban community with considerable air pollution to ensure communities meet the NAAQS. environmental resources, Gastonia continues its long- The Air Quality Index is determined by measuring for five standing effort to maintain that fragile ecological balance. major air pollutants: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Ground-level ozone ir Quality and airborne particles are the two pollutants that pose the greatest threat to human health in this country. Air Air is a resource we take for granted because it is A pollutants identified in the 2007 DAQ Air Quality Report as everywhere around us, and we involuntarily breathe twelve the greatest concern in the Charlotte MSA are: times each minute. However, since the 1970s, there has been a heightened public awareness of the quality of the Ground-level ozone, the major component of what air we breathe. This awareness can be attributed to the we commonly call smog, mostly from automobile various studies and news media reports that have linked traffic, and industrial pollution; ozone and fine particle pollution to premature death, Fine particulate matter, PM 2.5, mostly from electricity cardiac arrhythmias, asthma attacks, and the development generation in Gaston County, but statewide and of chronic bronchitis and progression of chronic obstructive national major sources also includes waste disposal, pulmonary disease (COPD). In fact, although rarely talked smoke, wood combustion fires, industry and vehicles); about, poor air quality poses one of the greatest threats to Hazardous air pollutants, also called Air Toxics; and, public health and is particularly burdensome to children, the Carbon monoxide, mostly from motor vehicles. elderly, those with lower incomes, and those with chronic respiratory disease. Gastonia’s air quality is measured along with other municipalities within the Charlotte local network. The Standards & Measures Charlotte local network includes Cabarrus, Gaston, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Union, Iredell and York To ensure access to clean air, the federal Clean Air Act was (S.C.) counties. Regional trends such as population created as the primary regulatory framework for national, growth, greater increases in vehicle miles traveled, and state, and local efforts to protect air quality. Under the growing electrical power demands have had a negative Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency impact on the quality of air in the region. Specifically, the (EPA) is responsible for setting standards, known as National eight counties in the Charlotte region are designated by Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), for pollutants the EPA as a non-attainment area because it exceeded, considered harmful to people and the environment. Air or has contributed to exceeding, the national eight-hour quality planning is focused on meeting the NAAQS and ozone standard over a three-year period for ground-level setting deadlines for meeting these standards. ozone. This means that on many days each year, air 10-2 Environmental Quality GASTONIA 2025 Comprehensive Plan pollution exceeds healthy levels. This post the color-coded Air Quality Index used by the DAQ to designation also means that the region warn citizens of unhealthy air quality as illustrated in Figure could face serious penalties involving 10-1. the loss of federal funds if the air quality isn’t improved. Poor air quality not only Over the past six years, the Charlotte MSA has experienced impacts residents of the region, but also an average of 35 days per year of unhealthy air. These impacts businesses in the form of lost unhealthy air days include orange, red, or purple coded productivity and the possibility of more days. Cars and other vehicles are the largest single stringent federal regulations. Once sources for ozone problems. While Gaston County has designations take effect, they become little control over vehicle use in other counties in the Looking out across Gaston County atop Crowders an important component of state and region, Gastonia can contribute to the reduction of ozone Mountain on a “code orange” day. local government efforts to control by exercising its leadership role in transportation planning. ground-level ozone. Managing growth in ways to locate residences closer to and among employment centers, and encouraging The Charlotte Urban Area recognizes that the problems carpooling and alternate sources of transportation is with air quality are due to high levels of ground-level ozone also an effective tool for addressing air quality. Public caused by automobile traffic and industrial pollution. It education regarding reducing ground level ozone is is estimated that more than 55 percent of ozone air needed. As the region continues to grow, these efforts pollution in the region is caused by emissions from cars will be required on a regional basis to prevent an increase and trucks. The American Lung Association’s 2003 State in ozone exceedances. Also, improvements to traffic of the Air Report identified the Charlotte MSA as the 10th flow and public transit, clean fuels for City vehicles, and smoggiest metro area in the United States. Ground-level regional bus service between Gastonia and Charlotte are ozone is not a primary pollutant, meaning it doesn’t come all steps the City can advocate. directly from a source such as smokestacks or tailpipes, Figure 10-1: The Color-Coded Air Quality Index but is created when two primary