Statewide, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is launching a new community air monitoring program through an EPA grant award designed to empower communities to assess their own air quality. DEQ’s new Community Air Action Planning pilot program, or CAAP, will partner with four communities across Oregon to conduct local air monitoring and explore potential community-level solutions to address concerns.
Through the CAAP pilot program, DEQ will collect PM2.5, black carbon and meteorological data in the partner communities, along with qualitative data, to understand how air pollution impacts each community’s air quality. DEQ and the partnering communities will recruit local property owners to host the air monitors at different sites in the community, and analyze all of the data to identify opportunities to improve local air quality.
In addition to providing monitoring equipment and evaluating air quality data, the CAAP program includes trainings on air quality, sources of pollution, and how to operate air monitoring equipment. Desert Research Institute, Neighbors for Clean Air, and Portland State University are also partners in the grant providing data visualization, community capacity building, and evaluation support.
Please complete and submit this short questionnaire by June 2, 2024, if you are interested in having your community become one of the CAAP pilot communities. Anyone can apply including but not limited to a resident, community-based organization, school, or advocacy group. For more information, please see our overview of What Communities Can Expect fact sheet and visit the CAAP website.
For questions or more information, please email CAAP@deq.oregon.gov.
