Public Health and Safety & Air Quality

GOAL 23. Achieve and maintain excellent air quality, water quality, and noise quality such that public health and the environmental character of the county is protected.

Objective 23.A.

Maintain a high level of air quality that protects human health and wildlife, and prevents the degradation of scenic views.

Policy 23.A.1. Maintain air quality by complying with standards and regulations established by the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD).

Action 23.A.1.a. Maintain countywide attainment of ambient standards for carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2).

Action 23.A.1.b. Support GBUAPCD implementation of State Implementation Plans for PM10 in the Mono Basin and town of Mammoth Lakes, and ozone countywide.

Action 23.A.1.c. Provide public education by referring applicable parties such as stationary source operators, construction managers, and agricultural operators to the GBUAPCD to ensure compliance with standards and regulations.

Action 23.A.1.d. Comply with Mammoth Air Basin SIP requirements for vehicle miles traveled – see the Regional Transportation Plan in the Circulation Element and RTP Objective 7.C.2.

Policy 23.A.2. Support improved regional forest management to reduce local impacts to visual resources and public health due to smoke from forest fires.

Action 23.A.2.a. Support and encourage forest health projects on the western slope to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic fires that will transport smoke to the Eastern Sierra.

Policy 23.A.3. Future development projects shall avoid impacts to air quality or mitigate impacts to a level of non-significance, unless a statement of overriding considerations is made through the EIR process.

Policy 23.A.3.a. Future development projects with the potential to significantly impact air quality shall assess potential impacts prior to project approval. Examples of potential significant impacts include:

1. Violating any ambient air quality standard; and/or
2. Contributing substantially to an existing or projected air quality violation; and/or
3. Exposing sensitive receptors to substantial pollutant concentrations or odors.

The analysis shall:

1. be funded by the applicant;
2. be prepared by a qualified person under the direction of Mono County;
3. assess existing conditions in the general project vicinity;
4. describe the impacts of the proposed development upon air quality within the project site and on surrounding areas; and
5. recommend project alternatives or measures to avoid or mitigate impacts to air quality.

Mitigation measures shall be included in the project plans and specifications and shall be made a condition of approval for the project.

Policy 23.A.4. Promote mixed-use neighborhood commercial/residential development near employment centers to reduce the number of vehicle miles generated by land use development.

Action 23.A.4.a Support transit and similar transportation measures to ski areas, such as a park-and-ride system.

Policy 23.A.5. Reduce dust generation resulting from exposed alkali lake beds.

Action 23.A.5.a. Support the State Water Resources Control Board Decision 1631 requiring minimum flows to Mono Lake to maintain the lake level over 6,391 feet above mean sea level.

Policy 23.A.6. Reduce emissions from wood-burning appliances.

Action 23.A.6.a. Require that all new wood-burning appliances be Phase II EPA certified.

Policy 23.A.7. Minimize the amount of fugitive dust generated by construction and other activities.

Action 23.A.7.a. Require project sponsors and their contractors to employ dust abatement techniques such as: sprinkling of exposed areas, preventing haul trucks from being overfilled, and sweeping spilled material off paved roads.

Policy 23.A.8. Encourage agricultural practices that reduce the amount of dust generated from tilling.

Action 23.A.8.a. Work with local resource conservation districts, the US Natural Resources Conservation Service, agricultural officials, and the GBUAPCD to assist landowners in adjusting agricultural practices to reduce dust generation.

Policy 23.A.9. Reduce the amount of dust entrained by vehicle movement over paved and unpaved roads.

Action 23.A.9.a. Require the paving or treatment of roads accompanying new development projects, in conformity to the County road standards.

Action 23.A.9.b. Consider the paving or treating of existing unpaved roads in the county considered to be significant dust sources through capital improvement plans, special assessment districts, or other sources.

Action 23.A.9.c. Cinders used for winter road maintenance should be applied in a manner that does not cause degradation of air quality.

Policy 23.A.10. Restrict OHV use in order to minimize air quality impacts.

Action 23.A.10.a. Consider coordinating OHV use on private lands and County roads with the OHV use established by the USFS and BLM for public lands.

Objective 23.B.

Maintain a high level of water quality that protects human health and wildlife habitat.

Policy 23.B.1. Implement policies contained in the Water Resources section of the Conservation/Open Space Element.

Objective 23.C.

Maintain existing ambient noise levels to protect human health and preserve habitat values.

Policies to achieve this objective are included in the Noise Element of this plan.

Objective 23.D.

Provide for the safe transfer, storage, and disposal of hazardous materials and waste in order to protect human health and the environment.

Policies to achieve this objective are included in the Mono County Integrated Waste Management Plan.

GOAL 24. Protect the public from natural hazards, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, avalanches, floods, and fires.

Policies to achieve this goal are included in the Safety Element of this plan.