An important mission

Celebrating 50 years of cleaner air; looking forward to 50 more

By Ruth Albright (Posted December 8, 2019):

This photo, taken near Grandfather Mountain, captures the ability to see buildings in Charlotte, North Carolina, from a point almost 80 miles away. (Photo used with permission.)

I have been elected to serve on the Board of the Carolinas Air Pollution Control Association (CAPCA). I look forward to serving the organization in this capacity because I believe in CAPCA’s mission. The excerpt below, from the Constitution and Articles of Association of CAPCA, states the purposes for which the association is organized:

To organize and bring together into a unified body and association those individuals and entities who are working in the field of clean air management, whether in government, individual, corporate, or association capacity and those individuals and other entities that are interested in clean air, for the purpose of providing educational resources and opportunities in the area of air pollution control and related matters for promoting, encouraging, improving, advancing, and strengthening the cause of clean air through any and all lawful avenues and opportunities available.

CAPCA celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2019. It is no coincidence that CAPCA was organized in 1969, which was during the formative period for the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Air Act of 1970. There were numerous reports of detrimental air quality events in the United States, and individual states were taking up the public policy challenge of providing clean air to their citizens in the 1960s. Organizing the state and local government regulators and providing a forum for the regulated community to have an open dialog with the regulators were key steps to improve air quality. Regionally, both North Carolina and South Carolina were experiencing growth in the industrial sectors of the economy. As new industries moved in, the challenges to maintain clean air were becoming evident.

States have a public policy goal of ensuring that citizens have clean air to breathe because states are charged with providing for public health and welfare. Air quality that is detrimental to good health affects the economic success of a community and strains public health systems.

The tools available to states for affecting air quality are regulatory in nature. Regulations may be written to be proscriptive; they can prohibit specific actions or impacts. Regulations may be written to be prescriptive; they can require specific actions or impacts. Regulations may be written to be permissive; they can allow actions or impacts. Because regulations have an economic impact on the business environment, forming an organization specifically to promote discussion of how to regulate air quality was a positive development for responsive regulation development.

CAPCA encourages positive public policy outcomes specifically because it provides a forum for the industries that generate air pollution to have a dialog with regulators and those who implement air quality regulations. By discussing the desired goal, clean air and competitive industry, the regulators can develop regulations that are restrictive enough to provide clean air and are also flexible enough for industry to successfully compete in the world economy.

CAPCA also provides a forum to develop relationships within the regulated community. Those relationships facilitate the willingness to listen to the diverse views of the various stakeholders and develop common goals. This makes the regulated community more willing to take on the regulatory burden imposed by regulations because they have input into the specifics of the requirements. This helps the regulatory community understand what can and cannot be accomplished through regulations.

The year 2019 marks almost 50 years of improvements in air quality in the United States. During this time:

Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a measure of economic activity, has grown by 324 percent.
The population of the United States has grown from 205 million to 327 million, an increase of 60 percent.
Vehicles miles traveled has increased 275 percent.
Emissions of the six criteria pollutants have declined an average of 73 percent.

The picture to the right shows the improvement in visual field from a point near Grandfather Mountain on October 24, 2019. The photo captures the ability to see buildings in Charlotte, North Carolina, from a point almost 80 miles away. Reductions in fine particulate, oxides of nitrogen, and sulfur dioxide have improved the air clarity. Throughout the country, improvements in air quality are increasing the air clarity.

As we look to the future, CAPCA will continue to serve the community of people interested in clean air both inside and outside of the Carolinas. These issues will evolve as the economy changes and new industries enter the market. There will continue to be a public policy associated with providing clean air, and bringing people with diverse opinions and insights will continue to be key in providing for a healthy future.

SynTerra employees have experience in air quality-related consulting services ranging from preparation of minor source air permits to development of compliance plans for Title V major source facilities. We can assist with:

Preparation of air emission inventories to assess the quantity of various air pollutants emitted by a process
Development of construction permit applications
Modeling of proposed emissions for off-site impacts
Development of operating permit applications for both new and renewal permits
Assistance with development of compliance plans
Assistance with source test plan development and execution

Kathy Webb, P.G.

Senior Market Leader | Principal

Kathy Webb, who co-founded SynTerra (then known as The Fletcher Group) in 1992, has completed remedial investigations and regulatory compliance projects associated with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities, state and federal Superfund sites, solid waste landfills, brownfield redevelopment, utility coal combustion residual (CCR) management units, and regulated industrial facilities. She has supported litigation as an expert witness related to chlorinated solvents, metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

Kathy is known for her practical assessment strategy with the perspective of the client’s business objectives. She routinely evaluates groundwater corrective action systems for effectiveness and progress toward achieving compliance objectives. She has co-authored a trade journal paper with case studies of low-impact remedial strategies. Kathy is a licensed Professional Geologist in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Mark Taylor, P.G.

Principal

Mark has worked more than 40 years in natural-resource based industries. His expertise includes mine geology and mine engineering, hydrogeologic and geotechnical investigations, solid and hazardous waste management, and regulatory negotiations. He has published peer-reviewed papers about coal geology, ore geochemistry, mineralogy, and solid waste management. He is a leading expert in mining and environmental permitting for litigation support.

Mark is licensed as a Professional Geologist in South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Washington. He serves on the boards of the Upstate Red Cross and Upstate Forever. He served on the South Carolina Board of Registration for Geologists for six years. Mark holds a Master’s degree in Geological Sciences from The University of Michigan and a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Science from Harvard University.

Andrea Kehn, P.E.

Vice President of Engineering | Principal

Andrea Kehn, leader of our Civil & Environmental Engineering Business Unit, has 28 years of experience in chemical manufacturing and environmental consulting. She leads and supervises staff professionals on multidisciplinary projects for a variety of industrial clients. Andrea’s vast experience and expertise includes: air quality construction and operating permitting; air quality modeling; air permit record-keeping and reporting; Oil Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC) and Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP); NPDES permitting; water quality modeling; process safety management; risk management compliance and auditing; and RCRA compliance.

Andrea is registered as a Professional Engineer in South Carolina. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Ruth Albright, P.E.

Vice President | Principal

Ruth has led projects for major industrial facilities throughout the Southeast and beyond. She built her knowledge of environmental regulations and their application to manufacturing operations while working for the second largest chemical manufacturing company in the United States. At SynTerra, she has expanded both her knowledge and reputation working for chemical manufacturing operations of all sizes. She has also worked extensively with other manufacturing operations, including pulp and paper, industrial equipment, pharmaceuticals, food, and automotive parts and assembly. Her experience includes air and wastewater permit compliance, solid and hazardous waste management, solid waste construction permitting, hazardous materials transportation, wastewater treatment systems, air pollution control equipment operations and maintenance, and ambient air monitoring systems.

Ruth is a professional engineer registered in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Michigan, Arkansas, and Kentucky. She is an active member of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Environmental Technical Committee and serves as the chair of the water subcommittee. She has previously served as the program and committee chair for the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce Environmental Affairs committee. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Clemson University.