Bills that would completely replace the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board and potentially undermine are set to be heard by Albuquerque鈥檚 City Council on Wednesday, November 8th.
In response, a coalition of environmentalists and historic neighborhoods are sounding the alarm to the potential harm the changes could have on all of Bernalillo county鈥檚 residents.
Introduced by in Northwest Albuquerque, the bills would also do a number of other things 鈥撯�� including a moratorium that would stop standard air quality regulation dead in its tracks until February 1, 2024.
Lewis said the current board .
Historically, under the , the board advises the Mayor, the Environmental Health Department, the City Council and the County Commission on all air quality matters.
These proposals would inherently strip that power away and reclassify the board as an advisory committee only to the city council.
Marla Painter is a member of the , an organization that has been fighting for tighter air quality control in Albuquerque for decades.
鈥淪o, the city council would be making decisions about air permits and appeals and take that out of the hands of these appointed members of the air board, 鈥� said Painter.
Painter said there鈥檚 some gray area in what the city council can and cannot do to a board involved in both county and municipal affairs.
In fact, some county commissioners plan to introduce a resolution requesting a deferral on the proposed amendments on Tuesday.
But Painter expects the proposals by Lewis to have majority support from the city council when it comes time for the vote.
鈥淎nybody who cares about equity should care about this,鈥� she said.
Several environmental organizations worry this move could prevent future protections from becoming a reality 鈥撯�� like the . That鈥檚 a proposal that would, if passed, require the Environmental Health Department to consider health and quality of life impacts when issuing air pollution permits.
