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The Partner Link - February 2005

The bi-annual newsletter of the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air

PDF Version is also available

2004 Air Quality Summary; One Ozone Action Day, Six Health Advisories

The 2004 ozone season ended quietly, with only one Ozone Action Day called for southeast Wisconsin this summer. During the summer, only four days had ozone concentrations reaching into the “unhealthy for sensitive groups” range (orange color on the AQI). More significantly, no 1-hour readings exceeding 124 parts per billion were recorded for only the second year since ozone monitoring began in the late 1980s.

“Overall lower emissions levels, coupled with a cool, rainy summer, meant that ground-level ozone wasn’t much of a problem this year,” said Lloyd Eagan, director of the DNR Air Management Bureau. “But along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and many other states, we’re monitoring more closely for fine particle pollution, sometimes called PM 2.5, in our air.”

The Wisconsin DNR along with agencies in neighboring states has begun issuing health advisories when fine particle pollution in the air reaches levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups. In 2004, the DNR issued six particle pollution health advisories covering nine days. September was also the first time a health advisory was issued statewide due to extremely widespread high levels of particle pollution.

Unlike ground-level ozone, which is formed when emissions from cars, power plants, large factories and other sources react in the presence of sunlight on hot, still summer days, fine particle pollution can be a problem any time of the year (as it was in October, November and December of 2004). Fine particle pollution can also rise to unhealthy levels in parts of Wisconsin not usually affected by ground-level ozone (such as Sauk County). The people in the sensitive groups affected by particle pollution include those with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children.

Updates on current air quality information, are on the DNR website, the U.S. EPA website or through a toll-free hotline, 1-866-Daily Air (1-866-324-5924). For more information contact Larry Bruss at (608) 267-7543 or Jerry Medinger at (414) 263-8659.

Cleaner Air Faster… One year and counting

Cleaner Air Faster (CAF) is an element of Governor Doyle's Grow Wisconsin campaign to enhance our economy, protect the environment and enhance our quality of life. This is done by encouraging companies, individuals, institutions and government to voluntarily adopt cost effective, emission reductions on high ozone days and by seeking permanent reductions from large and medium sources by improving energy and process efficiency. An element of this second effort is encouraging life style changes at the personal and family level to foster personal responsibility of this issue.

Dane, Jefferson and Fond du Lac Counties have established very active programs since mid-2003. Private sector interests in Winnebago and Brown Counties are also participating.

The chief goal of CAF is to improve and protect air quality by preserving ozone attainment in all of these counties. A secondary goal is to increase public awareness of the relationship between ozone precursors, fine particles and toxics. A final goal is to encourage public and private cooperation at regional as well as local levels so we can improve air quality at home and in downwind areas, particularly the ozone non-attainment area of southeast Wisconsin.

These goals are similar to those of the Partners for Clean Air in the Milwaukee area. CAF has been aided tremendously by the accomplishments and assistance of the Partners group.

Specific CAF accomplishments in the first year include:

Transit Users Get More House for their Money

Homeownership has just become more affordable thanks to an innovative collaboration among Select Milwaukee, five local banks, Fannie Mae and the Milwaukee County Transit System. The Smart Commute Initiative helps home buyers near MCTS routes qualify for a larger mortgage, based on anticipated savings from riding transit.

With savings that can come from riding the bus rather than driving to work, Smart Commute allows home buyers to apply this savings to their buying power, adding as much as $9,500 to what they can borrow.

Fannie Mae’s Smart Commute Initiative involves five local banks that originate home mortgages and Select Milwaukee, a nonprofit organization that offers advice and guidance to home buyers throughout the purchase and finance process. MCTS provides vouchers redeemable for two free months of bus travel to home buyers using Smart Commute.

In addition to choosing a home within one-quarter mile of a MCTS bus stop, households can own no more than two vehicles. In addition, as with all mortgages, borrowers will be evaluated on the basis of credit and income history, employment history and stability, and debts in relation to income. Select Milwaukee offers comprehensive financial assessments to help determine a person’s qualifications for Smart Commute and many other mortgage programs and financial resources.

For home buying guidance and to learn if you are eligible for a mortgage and Smart Commute, contact Select Milwaukee at 414-562-5070, ext. 221, or email info@selectmilwaukee.org. Participating lenders also can be contacted:

Cleaner School Buses Full Speed Ahead

What's so important that over 24 million kids have to have it every day? Here are some clues: it's big, it's yellow, and it travels 4 billion miles a year. School buses! Though this integral part of schooling is the most reliable and safest means of transportation for kids, there is something we can do to make them even safer.

The majority of the nation's 450,000 school buses run on diesel fuel, which emits high amounts of particulate matter (PM), hydrocarbons (HCs), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and toxics. With proper emission controls or use of alternative fuels, harmful emissions from these buses can be significantly reduced.

Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air expressed a concern over this issue and the Department of Natural Resources obtained funding to retrofit approximately 400 school buses in southeast Wisconsin. But what is a retrofit? A retrofit is a device or method that allows a bus to run cleaner. This can be a device placed on the exhaust system or a cleaner fuel. The retrofits used in our program are called diesel oxidation catalysts, a combination of a muffler and catalytic converter-type device that reduces HCs, CO, and PM in diesel exhaust by 20-50%. These devices are virtually maintenance-free and have no impact on fuel consumption or vehicle performance.

The project is being funded with a federal air quality grant of $1million. Since this grant is only available to ozone non-attainment areas, it can only be used in the following counties: Door, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Washington, and Waukesha.

The grant has a 20% match requirement. So far we have raised over $20,000 through donations mainly from businesses, including WPCA members, DNR and EPA employees. Organizations have also contributed by gathering support and donations through newsletter articles and notifying their members at meetings.

We are fortunate to have recently received even more grant money through a shift in funding in the Vehicle Inspection Maintenance Program. This will allow the retrofitting of about 300 more buses.

Not only will 700+ buses be retrofitted with oxidation catalysts, but one of the participating fleets is also planning to use ultra low sulfur diesel fuel, a cleaner form of diesel fuel. The fleet accepted a grant through the Wisconsin Asthma Coalition to introduce this cleaner fuel into their fleet before it's required by all fleets in 2006. The use of this fuel on retrofitted buses will reduce emissions another 10%.

Though this project specifically targets school bus fleets, there are ways that everyone can participate.

The school bus retrofit project is a win/win for everyone. Bus companies get cleaner buses, and everyone gets to breathe cleaner air.

For more information or if you'd like to participate in any way, please contact Jessica Lawent at 414-263-8653, Jessica.Lawent@wisconsin.gov. For more information on school bus retrofits in general and what other states are doing, visit EPA's Clean School Bus USA web site.

WPCA Steering Committee Updates Strategic Goals

Steering committee members evaluated and revised vision and strategic objectives of WPCA during the summer or 2004. They also renewed their charge for WPCA’s four subcommittees (Health, Transportation, Industrial/Manufacturing/Commercial, and Communications) to create an annual action plan consistent with the vision and objectives for 2005. Sub-Committee chairpersons will consult with their members and select an action/activity/project for 2005. The selected activities will be presented at the next steering committee meeting scheduled for February 23, 2005. Steering Committee members are encouraged to serve on at least one sub-committee and all members of WPCA are encouraged to participate in sub-committees.

Revised Vision and Objectives:

Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air
Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air is a coalition of businesses, community organizations, schools, government agencies and individuals committed to voluntarily improving air quality in southeast Wisconsin. This cooperative effort was initiated in April 1996 to promote innovation, provide flexibility, and to obtain credits for emission reduction requirements of the Clean Air Act.

Vision Statement
/ The Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air will enhance the quality of life for all individuals through the successful achievement of clean & healthy air. This will be achieved through comprehensive, voluntary, community efforts.

Strategic Objectives
The Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air have established the following strategic objectives

Objectives of the Steering Committee:
Community leadership will be visibly supportive and personally engaged.

There will be a true and equal partnership between government, major employers, businesses, community organizations, schools and individuals.

There will be sufficient resources to get the job done.

There is a vision, clear goals and annual recognition of success. Focus and efforts will be renewed annually.

Objectives of the Health Committee:

The health benefits of clean air will be quantified and clearly communicated.

The youth of today will receive information and instruction on the relationship of air quality to health so they take action to protect the air today as well as tomorrow.

There will be significant broad-based public support and understanding of the various roles of all people in achieving clean air.

Objectives of the Transportation Committee:

Travel alternatives such as increased use of alternative fuels, car-pooling, public transportation, biking and walking will be strongly supported and promoted.

The economic and health benefits of travel alternatives will be quantified where possible.

Objectives of the Industrial/Manufacturing/Commercial Committee:

There will be learning resources to enable industry sharing of technical ideas.

The economic benefits of clean air will be quantified and clearly communicated.

Objectives of the Communications Committee:

Our communication efforts will challenge other organizations to improve air quality.

There will be a close and collaborative relationship with the media to enable effective communications of issues to the general public.

Wisconsin Partners For Clean Air Transportation Survey Reminder:

A brief one page survey was faxed in early January to all WPCA Partner CEO members. The WPCA Transportation Subcommittee is conducting the survey as a foundation of measuring the following two committee objectives:

If your organization has not met the submittal deadline of January 31, please fax the form to 414-263-8550 or contact Peter McMullen at 414-263-8751/ peter.mcmullen@wisconsin.gov so we have a sufficient number of responses to compile meaningful results.

Economic Benefits of Transit in Milwaukee

Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) has a tremendous impact on the Milwaukee area economy and the quality of life of those it serves according to a study entitled, “Economic Assessment of the Transit System in Milwaukee” prepared by HLB Decision Economics, Inc. released in March of 2004. MCTS delivered $4.72 of economic value for each dollar spent on providing transit services by creating additional jobs, earnings and output within the transit system itself and in other regional industries. MCTS generated over $633 million in economic value for the regional economy while its expenditures were estimated at $139.9 million in 2003.

The benefits of transit fall into four main categories:

Congestion Management -

Affordable Mobility -

Enterprise -
The operation of transit services generates financial transactions that contribute to the local economy in the form of increased output, employment and earnings.

Neighborhood Development -

Clearly transit, in particular MCTS, has a profound effect on the mobility of those it serves and contributes to a ripple effect of economic vitality throughout Milwaukee County. For more information contact Joe Caruso, Marketing Director for MCTS, at 414.937.3250/ jcaruso@mcts.org.

Nominations Open for the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air Recognition Award

Here is an opportunity to nominate and recognize your organization or business for their voluntary actions to improve air quality in 2004. The nomination process is simple and the award provides an excellent opportunity to cultivate a positive image in the community and attract customer attention. Award recipients also enjoy public recognition and media attention.

Examples of activities that may make your organization eligible to receive this award include:

The next set of awards will be presented on May 19th at the 2005 Clean Air Extravaganza at the new Urban Ecology Center (in Milwaukee's Riverside Park, 2808 N. Bartlett Ave.). Winners will be announced at the awards event. There is still time to nominate an organization for this event. Click here for the Nomination Guidelines. The Intent to Apply deadline is March 11th, 2005. The nomination deadline is March 25th, 2005. For questions, please contact Jessica Lawent at (414) 263-8653 or Jessica.Lawent@wisconsin.gov. Thank you!

The Recognition Awards program, sponsored by the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air, was established in 1996 as a way to recognize businesses and organizations for their accomplishments and to share information on successful programs with others.

Walk Safe Milwaukee

Too many pedestrians and cyclists in the Milwaukee area have fallen victim to the wheels of inattentive motorists in recent months.

In Milwaukee County last year, 22 pedestrians and 2 bicyclists were killed as the result of traffic accidents with motorists. The number of people killed in crashes was down 7% in the state of WI, but up 21% in Milwaukee County and up an alarming 46% in the City of Milwaukee in 2004.

Ideas for solutions are being talked about by a lot of people- people from Milwaukee Co. Parks, the Milwaukee Police Department, the Brady Street Business Improvement District, the Bike Federation of WI, the Division of Public Health, the City Attorney’s Office, the Municipal courts and the City of Milwaukee and private business owners. They meet as the Education and Outreach Committee of the City of Milwaukee Bike/Ped Task force. This group views education as an important part of the solution.

A traveling pedestrian safety campaign is being developed to include banners with safety messages to be hung over roadways, human-shaped placards reminding people to stop, and a media awareness campaign that will remind media to follow pedestrian fatality and injury stories with safety messages. The solution also includes stricter police enforcement of traffic laws to enhance pedestrian safety, and plans to work with the municipal courts and the City Attorney’s office to more aggressively uphold citations for actions that endanger pedestrians.

Efforts to make pedestrians and cyclists safer and on our streets and roadways advances the WPCA’a agenda to achieve clean and healthy air by promoting travel alternatives such as walking and biking. The Milwaukee Bike/Ped task force is currently seeking support to help put their ideas into action. To find out how to contribute to these efforts, or for more information, contact Maurice Williams at 414-263-8517/ Maurice.Williams@wisconsin.gov.

Bike to Work Week

Bicycling is clearly an effective way to reduce harmful emissions and improve air quality. Bike to Work Week (BTWW) is The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin’s main event to get people to start commuting by bike. This year BTWW is May 14th-20th. Bicycling is a low-impact, accessible form of exercise appropriate for all ages. Bicycle commuting is a great way to sneak in daily exercise, travel without polluting, and enjoy an active lifestyle. Despite cycling’s multitude of benefits however, people are hesitant to try new things. Thus, Bike to Work Week offersevents, education, encouragement, and excitement to get people to try biking to work.

We Energies worked with the Bicycle Federation of WI to experience tremendous growth in the number of their employees cycle commuting. Four years ago, they had about 5 people biking to work. In 2004, 75 cyclists logged over 21,000 miles!

The Bicycle Federation of WI can help your company develop a bicycle commuter program, provide education to employees, and offers consulting services. Some of the most successful ways for companies to encourage cycle commuting include:

Ken Leinback, executive director of the Urban Ecology Center, has started an innovative reward based program. He pays employees one dollar for each day they bike, walk, or take transit to work. Carpoolers receive 50 cents. According to Leinbach, “The EcoBuck program is a small investment for a significant return. Healthier workers are happier. Happier workers are more productive.” The San Francisco city government pays employees seven cents a mile for all business travel by bicycle, and sponsors a city-wide monthly "Leave Your Car at Home Day”. Xerox, in Palo Alto, also has a well-conceived and run bicycle commuter program boasting a 20% cycle commuter rate!

BTWW success stories like these can only occur with the support of individuals and community-minded businesses, like the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air. Together we can encourage Milwaukeeans to fuel their travel with calories, not fossil fuels. The BFW offers sponsorship opportunities that range from $500-5,000 offering excellent advertising exposure. Bicyclists tend to be educated, high-earners with disposal income who value environmentally minded businesses. Be part of this important community effort to encourage cycling—the healthy, safe, fun, and environmentally sound way to get around.

Milwaukee Area BTWW Events

Contact Jessica Wineberg (414-431-1761 or Jessica@bfw.org) for information on participating or sponsoring BTWW.

We Want YOU...

To write an article about the voluntary actions your company or organization is taking to reduce air emissions for the next issue of “The Partner Link”. Please send your articles or article ideas to Jessica Lament, Jessica.Lawent@wisconsin.gov, or call 414-263-8653.

October 2003 Issue || November 2004

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Email Questions to Jessica Lawent, Jessica.Lawent@wisconsin.gov, 414-263-8653