End Of The Year Comment About Our Regional Planners At SEWRPC

The Chicago-area planning commission (CMAP) is urging citizens through a note with links on its home page to take action and tell federal officials to strengthen air quality standards:

Our region faces harm to its air quality and a significant loss of federal transportation funding if the U.S. EPA follows through on its intention to ignore current, certified 2011 data and rule that northeastern Illinois is "in attainment" with the agency's 2008 guidelines for air quality.

CMAP urges you to contact U.S. EPA and members of Congress, calling on the federal regulators to consider the up-to-date 2011 data, which clearly indicate our region has actually not attained the 2008 air standards. The U.S. EPA comment period has begun with publication of a December 20 notice in the Federal Register (marked as "40 CFR Part 81"), which includes details of how to make your views known. Commenters may want to adapt this sample letter. Read more in a CMAP Policy Update.

I looked for something similar on SEWRPC's site, and, rooting around, found no call to citizen action or favoring cleaner air - - but did spot a bureaucracy's most passive, and lowest level of response:  reference to a study - - and 33-months old, to boot:

Study Report

Memorandum Report No. 186

Assessment of Conformity of the Year 2035 Regional Transportation System Plan and the Year 2009-2012 Transportation Improvement Program with Respect to the State of Wisconsin Air Quality Implementation Plan -- Six County Southeastern Wisconsin Ozone Nonattainment Area (3/2009, 191pp)