ND recognized for clean air: The American Lung Association recently released its “State of the Air” Annual Report for 2020, giving North Dakota “A” grades for lack of ozone, also known as smog. Bismarck was ranked as one of the cleanest cities for its lack of ozone and 12th out of 25 cities for year-round particulate levels. In addition, Fargo was also among the top-ranked cleanest cities for lack of ozone.
The American Lung Association is not alone in its assessment of North Dakota’s air quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has also designated North Dakota as one of only 14 states to meet all of the nation’s strict federal ambient air quality standards.
The American Lung Association has compiled the annual report each of the past 20 years, using local data that is submitted to EPA. This year’s report covers the years 2016 to 2018. During this time period, the state experienced haze from out-of-state wildfires which led to a rise in particulate levels.
The American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report can be found at http://www.stateoftheair.org/
Miners named as essential workers: The Department of Homeland Security announced this spring that it had expanded its list of essential workers to include coal miners. The initial oversight was a glaring error in North Dakota where our power plants are adjacent to the mines.
This combination of mines and plants ensures that North Dakotans and people in surrounding states have a resilient power supply. While other power plants might have a 30-day stockpile of coal, our power plants literally have years of coal to be used as fuel.
The Lignite Energy Council, as well as the North Dakota Congressional delegation and regional mining companies and utilities, reached out to the Department of Homeland Security asking for miners to be included as essential workers during the pandemic.
Annual meeting cancelled but look for bigger fall conference: Due to the “shelter-in-place” guidance, the Lignite Energy Council cancelled its annual meeting in April; however, Kay LaCoe has been busy rescheduling many of the speakers for a two-day fall conference, which will be held on September 30 and October 1. The annual teachers’ seminar, a Scott Hennen radio tour of coal country and the NextGen ND program were also cancelled due to the coronavirus as was the golf tourney in MInnesota, orginally scheduled for August 13. While these events will hopefully return next summer, work continues to ensure that teachers and others are receiving regular communications regarding our industry. If you would like to see the outstanding 30-second commercials produced by the NextGen ND students, check them out on this webpage – https://lignite.com/next-gen-nd/