Community Air Monitoring and Notification System Task Force: Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Releases Final Report
May 09, 2025
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) issued an April 28th news release announcing the release of the Final Report on the Community Air Monitoring and Notification System Task Force (“Task Force”).
The Task Force was established by the Louisiana Senate Concurrent Resolution 30 (“SCR30”) during the 2024 Regular Legislative Session.
LDEQ describes the Task Force charge as the evaluation of the feasibility, cost, and benefits of real-time community air monitoring and notification systems for Louisiana emissions sources.
Specific areas of evaluation assigned to the Task Force included:
- Assessment of Monitoring Effectiveness
- Cost Analysis
- Air Pollutant and Public Health Review
- Strategic Recommendations
Examples of topics addressed in the Report include:
- Legislative context/objectives of SCR30 authorized in the Task Force.
- Role of the Task Force in evaluating real-time air monitoring systems.
- Potential of air monitoring systems to detect and communicate air quality exceedances to impacted communities.
- Analysis of existing regulatory framework, current monitoring technologies, and infrastructure needed to implement and maintain such systems statewide.
- Cost analysis of implementing such systems including:
- Initial equipment costs.
- Ongoing operational expenses.
- Personnel requirements.
- Potential integration of simple sensor technologies as sentinel systems.
- Their role in complementing regulatory-grade monitors.
- How they can enhance community coverage.
- Role in enhancing transparency in siting decisions.
- Actionable recommendations for legislative or regulatory changes necessary to implement a system effectively, which include:
- Potential phased approaches.
- Prioritization of sites.
- Public engagement initiatives.
A copy of the Report can be downloaded here.
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