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Staff recommends moving Asheville‑Buncombe Air Quality Agency into county permits division, warns of closure risk
Summary
Staff outlined three scenarios — maintain independent agency, transition to Buncombe County division (staff recommendation, ~$350K operating impact), or close and transfer duties to the state — and recommended transition to preserve local programs and monitoring.
County staff presented three options for the Asheville‑Buncombe Air Quality Agency during the FY2027 work session and recommended transitioning the agency into Buncombe County's permitting and inspections function to preserve local monitoring and programming.
Sam Riddle, who led the presentation, said the agency has relied on federal funding and fee revenues that have declined as local emissions improved, depleting…
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