Fairfax County officials plan to close the county’s four air-monitoring stations in June, leaving it up to the state to watch ozone levels in Northern Virginia’s largest county.
The move to save $200,000 next budget year would shutter stations at Mason Governmental Center, McLean Governmental Center, Mount Vernon Sherwood Hall and in Chantilly.
The stations were not mandated by the state or federal government but allowed the county to conduct tests beyond those required by environmental agencies.
Citing budget concerns of its own, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality said it will not take over the stations. Instead, the department will rely on measurements from its center near Franconia Road in Alexandria to measure ozone levels.
It spells the end of the county’s Air Pollution Control program, yet another in a line of services axed in light of a $257 million budget shortfall.
Some supervisors say the reductions prove taxpayers should have never footed the bill in the first place.
“If they’re not essential, I don’t see why we should continue paying for them,” said Republican Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity. “There are a lot of things the county has picked up that don’t make much sense.”
However, other supervisors questioned whether one station was enough to monitor air quality throughout the 395-square-mile county.
Bill Hayden, spokesman for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, said the cuts will not impair effective air readings in Fairfax.
“The county monitors are in a fairly small geographical area,” he said. “We determined they weren’t providing additional information we couldn’t get elsewhere. We’re still going to catch high ozone readings in the county.”
In outlining the cuts, County Executive Anthony Griffin noted the closures would diminish the county’s ability to collect air-pollution data, pointing to the elimination of studies monitoring contamination from businesses and idling motor vehicles.
The Environmental Protection Agency will conduct an independent analysis of all the discontinued stations. Data from Washington-area stations will be used to help monitor Fairfax’s air pollution, Hayden said.
