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- The Bureau of Air Quality is one of three Bureaus within the Maine Department
of Environmental Protection. The mission of the Bureau is to coordinate a
statewide program to control present and future sources of air contaminants to
assure the continued health, safety and general welfare of the people of Maine,
to protect property values, and to protect plant and animal life. To fulfill
this mission, the Bureau implements a two-pronged strategy: first, to improve
air quality in those areas where air quality has degraded; and second, to
prevent the deterioration of air quality in areas where the air quality is
acceptable.
Much of the Air Bureau's activities are related to complying with ambient air
quality standards. Air quality is monitored for specific pollutants at various
locations throughout the state, providing feedback not only on the state of
Maine's air quality in the present, but also on the trends that exist in our
air quality, (such as its improvement) over time. Monitoring also tells us
about the effectiveness of our programs. Emission licenses issued within the
context of the Air Program are designed to ensure that emissions from
manufacturing and industrial sources are sufficiently controlled so as not to
diminish the quality of our air. Compliance activities within the air program
ensure that terms of the licenses, and the regulations administered by the
bureau are adhered to, and enforcement activities ensures a consequence for
noncompliance. Inventory activities track statewide emissions of criteria
pollutants, enabling trend analyses and other information critical to air
quality management.
Other Bureau activities encompass air quality issues such as air toxics
inventory and monitoring programs, mobile sources, mercury and acid rain
deposition monitoring, and climate change. In addition, the Bureau maintains an
active education and outreach program, and participates in regional efforts to
curb air pollution.
[Source: "http://www.maine.gov/dep/air/"]
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