This week, U.S. EPA honored the Louisiana DEQ (LDEQ) as part of its 17th annual Clean Air Excellence Awards. LDEQ took home the Community Action Award for its Temporary Located Community (TLC) Air Monitoring Program, which promotes community-driven solutions to improve environmental protection.
Under the TLC program, LDEQ convenes underserved communities for a discussion of issues involving health, the environment, and community assistance. Also as part of this program, LDEQ’s TLC and Mobile Air Monitoring Lab Air Monitors collect and relay neighborhood ambient air quality data in real time, providing information to residents on the extent and trends of certain regulated pollutants and educating the community about health risks. Today, LDEQ collects data in three neighborhood locations, including St. Rose, Marrero, and Waggaman.
Upon receiving the award, LDEQ Secretary Dr. Chuck Carr Brown remarked that when he took the position of Secretary more than five years ago, he “created the acronym EEAT: Environmental Education, Access to decision makers, and Trust in the decisions that are made. Each of these values is at work in the Temporary Located Community Ambient Air Monitoring Program.”
