Air Quality

The Miami Valley’s air quality is the best it has been in 50 years. Transportation sources continue to be the largest contributing sector to our region's climate pollution (GHG) inventory.

The Miami Valley Region is working to maintain and improve healthy air quality on a continuing basis. Over the years, industries have updated processes and increased efficiencies in order to reduce air pollution emissions. Governments have improved transportation infrastructure and built energy efficient buildings to reduce their emissions. Residents have taken common sense steps to reduce air pollution, like keeping their cars tuned up. These efforts have helped reduce air pollution in our Region.

What Communities can do

The common thread among these air quality issues is that reducing energy consumption by transportation and the built environment will reduce the emission or formation of ozone, PM2.5 and GHGs. All communities in the Miami Valley can contribute to cleaner air by encouraging their residents to choose to drive less and use less fossil fuel energy, and developing in ways that facilitate those choices. That means making sure that walking, bicycling, and transit use are safe, comfortable and convenient alternatives to driving alone. It also means making sure the community’s codes and ordinances allow for the kinds of compact land use that make active transportation a good option, and facilitate renewable energy use. The suggested programs, policies and projects that follow serve as a menu of options for your community to continue on the path to sustainability.

  • Work with RAPCA and MVRPC’s Air Quality Awareness Program to provide information about the ways residents and businesses can reduce air pollution (both outdoors and indoors).
  • Notify community residents when RAPCA and MVRPC issues Air Quality Alerts.
  • Distribute Air Quality Awareness Program materials to residents to promote actions to take to reduce air pollution. MVRPC staff is available to provide materials for distribution at your community events, information for your newsletters and other educational opportunities.
  • Host a RAPCA air permitting workshop in your community for your local businesses.
  • Set a goal for carbon emissions reduction and work with partners throughout the city to plan implementation strategies. The City of Cincinnati’s Green Cincinnati Plan is a good model.
  • Partner with your Public Health district to host tobacco cessation classes for your employees and/or residents.

  • Improve the energy efficiency of city buildings through energy audits, lighting and HVAC improvements.
  • Improve the efficiency of the municipal vehicle fleet. Explore opportunities to add hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and/or electric vehicles to the community fleet. Both the Ohio EPA and U.S. EPA have offered diesel emission reduction programs to assist in vehicle conversion or replacement.
  • Encourage staff to explore sustainable transportation options like carpooling, vanpooling, biking, taking transit or walking to work by promoting benefits like saving money, time and its impact on the environment. MVRPC's Rideshare Program is available to assist with matching staff to others to form carpools or vanpools.
  • Encourage employees to use electric vehicles by allowing workplace charging.
  • Prohibit unnecessary idling of city vehicles and encourage staff to be idle-free at home, too. Idle-Free Campaign support materials from the United States Department of Energy and MVRPC are available at no cost to schools, libraries, day care centers, municipalities and businesses in Clark, Darke, Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Preble Counties. The Centerville-Washington Park District has a good anti-idling policy.
  • Adjust city operations on Air Quality Alert Days to avoid unnecessary driving, refueling, or other activities that emit VOCs (volatile organic compounds), such as street paving or painting. Also, avoid activities that emit fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), such as using diesel engines or lawn mowing with a gas-powered mo wer.

  • Anti-idling ordinance — Vehicle engines should not idle any more than is absolutely necessary. Excessive idling wastes fuel, causes air pollution, and shortens engine life. A simple way to communicate this message is to enact an anti-idling ordinance, which makes it illegal to idle for more than a few minutes. An effective anti-idling ordinance makes it illegal to idle more than 5 minutes in warm weather or 10 minutes in cold weather. Common-sense exceptions are provided for safety and emergency vehicles and other vehicles that need to idle for various reasons. An example of a good policy comes from Cleveland. Locally, Five Rivers MetroParks and Centerville Washington Park District have anti-idling policies.
  • Support the transition to electric transportation by installing free public Level 1 or Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at key public destinations, such as core parking areas within a downtown, libraries, and community centers.
  • Alternate Fuel Corridors – see Transportation chapter.
  • Complete streets — see Transportation chapter.
  • Mixed-use zoning — see Land Use and Development chapter.
  • Transit-oriented development — see Land Use and Development chapter.
  • Density bonuses — see Land Use and Development chapter.
  • Tree protection — see Trees, Native Species & Land Management chapter.
  • City aggregation programs for green power — see Energy chapter.

Since air pollution is not constrained by community boundaries, some of the most important actions to improve air quality will require collaboration at the regional scale. All communities in the Miami Valley Region can help by:

  • Supporting effective state air quality implementation planning (such plans outline the emissions budgets and control measures the areas will take to attain and maintain clean air standards).
  • Supporting land use planning to develop vibrant, walkable communities that provide convenient transportation options and reduce the need to drive to a destination.
  • Supporting the funding of public transit services and increased bicycle facilities.

  • Air pollution regulations and monitoring — Eileen Moran, RAPCA, 937.225.4435, emoran@rapca.org
  • Climate action planning — Meg Maloney, Dayton Manager of Sustainability, 937.333.3600, meg.maloney@daytonohio.gov
  • Health impacts of air pollution — Brian Huxtable, RAPCA, 937.225.4435, bhuxtable@rapca.org
  • Health impacts on children — Abbey Pettiford, Dayton Children’s Hospital, 937.641.3385, pettiforda@childrensdayton.org
  • Regional air quality planning — Matt Lindsay, MVRPC, 937.531.6548, mlindsay@mvrpc.org
  • RAPCA AirLine for updated Air Quality Index and pollen and mold counts – 937.223.3222