Pyeongtaek City Announces Comprehensive Fine Dust Management Plan

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Seo Dong-young] Pyeongtaek City announced a comprehensive fine dust management plan on the 12th to reduce high-concentration fine dust during the winter season.

The city analyzed that fine dust levels are higher than in neighboring areas not only due to its proximity to China, but also because major national industrial facilities such as Pyeongtaek Port, coal-fired power plants, Hyundai Steel, and national industrial complexes are located in western Pyeongtaek.

The city determined that implementing a comprehensive plan with active response across all fine dust-related sectors is essential. At a fine dust-related meeting held on the 8th, it significantly strengthened the existing 'Pyeongtaek Blue Sky Project' and prepared comprehensive plans for each sector of fine dust management.

First, in the transportation sector, support for early scrapping of aged diesel vehicles and emission reduction devices will be expanded through 2022. Of the approximately 24,000 vehicles, approximately 17,000 vehicles remain after excluding the approximately 7,000 already supported. This year, the clean vehicle supply project for hydrogen and electric vehicles received support of 340 units and 5.9 billion won. Next year, an additional 200 or more units will be added, providing support for 546 units totaling 14.1 billion won. Electric charging stations, currently operating 221 units, will also be expanded. Active consideration is being given to supplying hydrogen and electric city buses that utilize clean energy, including hydrogen utilization at hydrogen convergence complexes to be built in the future.

In the residential life sector, a tree-planting project of 10 million trees with a scale of 5 billion won, including 11 billion won in national funding, will be implemented. Pyeongtaek City's forest coverage rate is at the lowest level nationwide at 18%. To increase insufficient green spaces, the city has planted 260,000 trees since 2018 to date. The plan is to plant 10 million trees by 2022.

Additionally, air purifiers will be distributed to facilities used by vulnerable populations, and operations of water spray vehicles for high-concentration fine dust, distribution of fine dust masks, and support for household low-NOx boilers will be expanded. In particular, fine dust masks that had been distributed to age groups vulnerable to air pollution (7 years old or younger, 65 years old or older) will now be expanded to low-income groups such as basic livelihood recipients. For household low-NOx boilers, support provided to 1,501 households through 2019 will be significantly expanded to 3,500 households with an investment of 700 million won next year. The support amount will also be increased from the existing 160,000 won to 200,000 won.

In the science and technology utilization sector, one unit will be added in Cheongbuk in December and one unit in Godecke in 2020 to the four air pollution measurement networks currently in operation, bringing the total to six units.

In the cooperation and communication strengthening sector, the city announced plans to promote joint response more actively through cooperation with other local governments and organizations. The city will expand the joint consultative body from six cities in the southern Gyeonggi region, formed in September with Gyeonggi Province and six southern cities, to 12 cities by adding six cities in the Charred Yellow Sea region of South Chungcheong Province from December.

The city will conclude a fine dust reduction agreement with Pyeongtaek Western Power Plant on the 28th. It also plans to operate a private consultative body composed of the city, Hyundai Steel, and environmental organizations to reduce fine dust emissions from the power plant and Hyundai Steel. Additionally, the city will communicate with citizens through fine dust citizens' roundtable discussions and 'visiting fine dust briefing sessions' for eup, myeon, and dong community leaders, and will operate an 'Environmental Academy' next year to promote citizen empathy and encourage voluntary participation in environmental issues.

Yu Byeong-woo, Director of Environment and Agriculture at the city, urged, "The city will continue to make more efficient measures and discover new projects to reduce fine dust. We ask citizens to show interest in environmental policies and participate together with us."