Olympic Regional Clean Air Agency outlines monitoring upgrades, stove‑replacement program for Clallam County

Jeff Johnston, executive director of the Olympic Regional Clean Air Agency, told the Clallam County Board of Health on Oct. 21 that ORCA is restoring regional air monitoring capacity, expanding local sensor coverage and continuing stove‑replacement work that removes particulate pollution from neighborhoods.

Johnston said ORCA, a six‑county local air agency with about 17 staff based in West Olympia, enforces state and federal clean‑air rules within its jurisdiction and operates a network of regulatory monitors and lower‑cost sensors across Clallam County. "We permit what are called stationary sources of air pollution," Johnston said, adding that ORCA does not regulate mobile sources such as cars and trucks. He said particulate matter, especially PM2.5, is the pollutant of greatest local concern.

ORCA operates a long‑running background observatory on Chica Peak, an EPA NCORE site that measures many pollutants. Johnston said the Chica Peak power line failed in February and the site has been offline; ORCA is relocating instrumentation to Bajocus Peak, about 5 kilometers northwest, and expects to have the instruments running early next month. He noted close partnerships with the Makah Nation and the University of Washington on the site.

The presentation included a 25‑year Port Angeles PM2.5 record showing worse wintertime values, driven primarily by wood‑smoke and stagnant meteorology, and spikes from recent wildfires such as the Bear Gulch fire. Johnston reviewed public monitoring tools, including ORCA's web pages, the Washington Department of Ecology's monitoring site and the EPA Fire and Smoke map (AirNow), which aggregates regulatory monitors and PurpleAir sensors.

Johnston described lower‑cost sensor deployments in Clallam County (PurpleAir and Department of Ecology sensors), noting a PurpleAir unit costs roughly $400 and simply requires power and Wi‑Fi. He said ORCA has co‑located sensors in Forks and plans additional installs depending on equipment availability and maintenance capacity.

On residential wood smoke, Johnston said ORCA has removed 53 wood stoves to date from across ORCA's jurisdiction and estimates those removals reduce PM2.5 emissions by about 4.14 tons per year. ORCA operates a recycle incentive of $500 for qualifying device removal and a replacement award for homeowners who switch to electric heat pumps, gas devices or pellet stoves; Johnston noted a heat‑pump replacement incentive of about $2,200 in the current grant cycle. He encouraged homeowners and HVAC contractors to contact ORCA to enroll in the program.

Johnston also explained outdoor burning categories (recreational/residential, land‑clearing and agricultural), current local differences in notification requirements and ORCA's conversations about a countywide residential burn notification system similar to Thurston County's 22‑year program. He described permitting triggers for stationary sources and urged project sponsors to notify ORCA early so permitting and stack design can be evaluated before construction.

On enforcement, Johnston said ORCA uses education first but has civil penalty authority and can issue regulatory orders; appeals go to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board. He closed by pointing to ORCA's website for monitoring data and program brochures and provided staff contact information for follow‑up.

Johnston and ORCA staff took questions from board members about sensor size and placement, Chica Peak power problems and whether wood‑stove replacements can be stacked with utility incentives. He said ORCA will continue outreach and coordination with Clallam County fire districts, the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Ecology.

Johnston: "We permit what are called stationary sources of air pollution"; he stressed that PM2.5 is the primary local pollutant of concern and highlighted the Chica Peak site's importance as an EPA NCORE background observatory.

The board did not take formal action on ORCA recommendations but asked staff to share program literature and links to monitoring tools.