NEW YORK (WKBW) — Governor Kathy Hochul announced a new state community air monitoring initiative Tuesday.
A statewide effort that will be overseen by the State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, it will monitor air quality in disadvantaged communities and use the data collected to develop strategies to reduce pollution.
The governor's office said the effort is the largest ever undertaken in the United States.
"Our most economically disadvantaged communities have also been hit the hardest by the harmful effects of pollution and climate change," said Hochul. "With this new initiative, we are deploying the latest state-of-the-art technology to examine the air quality in communities across New York State, and working with experts to determine the best solutions to reduce pollution to correct this injustice that has overburdened vulnerable parts of our state for far too long."
According to the governor's office, NYSERDA will work within its Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) process to allocate funding to the effort. The DEC's Environmental Justice Program will also provide up to $500,000 in Community Air Monitoring Capacity Building Grants to ensure community participation.
You can find more information here.
