Statewide, Ore. – The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is launching a new community air monitoring pilot program supported by an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant. The program is designed to empower communities to assess their local air quality and identify potential strategies to reduce their exposure to pollution.
DEQ selected four communities from 200 applications to participate in the Community Air Action Planning pilot program, or CAAP. The four communities are:
- Chiloquin
- McMinnville
- Medford (downtown & north Medford)
- Rockwood & Wilkes East (neighborhoods in Gresham)
DEQ selected the four communities using environmental justice principles and criteria identified by a team of program co-designers representing advocacy, nonprofit, and environmental groups. The team used the criteria to screen the applicants to ensure an equitable selection process and inclusive approach of all Oregon communities.
“The air we breathe has a major impact on our health,” said DEQ’s Air Quality Administrator Ali Mirzakhalili. “This grant will support DEQ’s work to engage and collaborate with community members to understand their air quality issues and to empower the community members to help develop holistic solutions.”
Through the CAAP program, DEQ will work with the community to collect local air quality data using monitoring equipment in each of the selected communities. DEQ and project partner Neighbors for Clean Air will hold listening sessions to hear community concerns, discuss where to locate air quality monitors, and provide education on air quality issues. Each community will receive a community-level air monitoring report at the end of the program to explore options for improving their air quality.
Here is what the four communities had to say about air quality in their area and participation in the pilot program:
Marcia Mikesh, from McMinnville said, “We had a major smoke event from wildfires in 2020. That was very distressing. There’s lots of dust in the air all summer and consistent pollution from inversions in the winter.”
“Between the fires in the summer and the burning of wood stoves in the winter, the air quality can be detrimental to health, but there are no air quality monitoring devices in Chiloquin,” said Aaron Martin. “As a science teacher, being able to connect a topical subject that directly effects my students and their families, is a great opportunity to show the values of data collection and science in our lives.”
Jennifer Mylenek, a community leader in Medford said, “[I believe] that by capturing the accurate air quality measurements locally, we can hope to find solutions to improve the health of our area. Smoke is a major cause of visible air pollution, which impacts all of us negatively, but we have to know the levels of all pollution before we can begin to address it.”
“Our children deserve the best opportunities to succeed and be healthy, said Briana Weber, Head of Harmony Montessori School in Rockwood. “Participating in this program will collect vital data that is hyperlocal, which will impact direct action for all members of the Rockwood community.”
Learn more about the pilot program on the CAAP webpage and how DEQ selected the four communities were selected on this fact sheet.