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Coastal Bend Air Quality Partnership marks 30 years, urges San Patricio County action on ozone and fleet pollution
Summary
The Coastal Bend Air Quality Partnership presented its annual report, highlighted regional economic risks from air-quality nonattainment and recommended county actions including an ozone plan, fleet inspections and anti‑idling policies.
Sharon Bailey Murphy, executive director of the Coastal Bend Air Quality Partnership, told San Patricio County commissioners on Tuesday that the partnership’s collaborative model has kept the region in attainment for federal air‑quality standards and that new, stricter standards make proactive planning more important.
Murphy said the partnership is developing a Coastal Bend Community Air Action Plan with science‑based strategies to maintain clean air while supporting economic development. She cited a regional economic analysis by Texas A&M–Corpus Christi’s Jim Lee that estimated nonattainment for ozone would cost the region about $54 billion and that including PM2.5 roughly doubles the estimate to $108 billion.
“Everyone has a seat at the table and that’s why our work resonates so strongly across the coastal bend,” Murphy said, summarizing outreach that has included open houses, school STEM events and engagement with state and federal agencies.
She recommended several concrete steps the county could take, including developing an ozone action plan for county operations, partnering with the university’s pollution‑prevention program to inspect and repair polluting fleet vehicles, and adopting anti‑idling policies for county fleets.
The presentation noted recognition by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the partnership’s collaborative approach. Commissioners thanked Murphy and several said they had learned new details about the partnership’s work.
Ending: The court moved the industrial‑plan discussion up on the agenda later in the meeting; no formal county action on the partnership’s recommendations was taken at this session, but the presentation was accepted and commissioners signaled willingness to consider the suggested operational measures.
