Cleveland Division of Air Quality kicked off the first in a series of public information sessions Wednesday to hear community input on proposed updates to its air pollution code.
The code outlines regulations the division can enforce to limit and control air pollution in the city. It was last updated in 1977.
"The current code reflects the times of 1977 and do not reflect our current needs," said Christine Yoka, Cleveland Division of Air Quality's Chief of Air Pollution Outreach. "The proposal that we have developed is based off of a cumulative impact philosophy, which is more consistent with understanding how the whole environment impacts a person.
The cumulative impact philosophy prioritizes disenfranchised communities that are particularly impacted by the effects of poor air quality, Yoka said, and nearby industries that might contribute to it.
In Cleveland, air pollution contributes significantly to health effects such as pediatric asthma, which greatly exceeds the national average in some neighborhoods, Yoka said.
"The national average is about 8%. And there are some neighborhoods in the city of Cleveland that are 23% to 25%," she said. "That's not all of the city of Cleveland, but there are certain neighborhoods that are at that level."
During the meeting, attendees were briefed on the updates. Then, using red and green paddles, they were able to weigh in on whether or not they agreed with the changes
This method allows for quick insight while still leaving time for questions and comments from the public, Yoka said.
"The other thing that helps us do is if we were not explaining something and people had their paddles down, that helps us kind of gauge like, okay, we need to provide at the next meeting a little bit more information about that," she said.
The proposed changes include increased operational fees for facilities, new requirements for businesses and expanded methods of enforcement.
The proposed changes also outline a push for additional indoor air quality resources along with action plans in the event of an air quality emergency, such as wildfire smoke drifting into the region.
"If air quality exceeds certain levels, city departments will have a plan in place for how are they going to respond to that," Yoka said. "Can we suspend our field activities for the day? If we have meetings, can those meetings be done virtually instead of in person?"
The proposed codes will be discussed at four additional information sessions this month.
- January 16 at 6 p.m. at Fatima Family Center, 6600 Lexington Ave.
- January 22 at 6 p.m. at One Hope NEO, 3202 Fulton Rd.
- January 29 at 6 p.m. at Fifth Christian Church, 14109 Benwood Ave.
- January 30 at 5 p.m. virtually over Microsoft Teams.
The team is hoping for specific input on proposed regulations, or elements they might have missed, Yoka said.
"Do residents and stakeholders, so this includes industry businesses to stakeholders in the city of Cleveland, support the work that's being done here?" Yoka said. "Do they oppose it? Do they think that there's additional steps that we could be taking? Are there things that we haven't considered?"
