Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Whistle Stop Mat-Su Talks Air Quality

Mat-Su | Patty Sullivan | Friday, November 03, 2017

The EPA Clean Air Act requirements have cost the North Star Borough millions of dollars. On Tues., Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Karl Kassel shared with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly and Planning Commission how to prevent falling into a costly federal category called non-attainment and to how prevent bad air days. 
After the meeting, Kassel spoke with Assembly Member Jim Sykes, who represents Butte, and Whistle Stop Host Patty Sullivan, about how the Fairbanks North Star Borough has been grappling with air quality issues for 30 years. 
The Mat-Su Borough has its own air quality concerns. On some days, inversion layers and wet wood smoke from stoves and burn piles in the community of Butte have produced unhealthy levels of fine particulates. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has been monitoring levels in Butte since Dec. 1998 and recently warned the Borough that the community is a few violations away from triggering federally-mandated corrective actions.
 
Listen to the discussion here.
 

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