Chungnam Designates and Manages Air Quality Control Zones in 14 Cities and Counties

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province announced on the 26th that, following the enforcement of the "Special Act on Air Quality Improvement in Air Quality Control Zones" (hereinafter referred to as the Air Quality Control Zone Act) last month, 14 cities and counties within the province (excluding Geumsan County) have been designated as part of the Central Region Air Quality Control Zone.

Once designated as an air quality control zone, a "Basic Air Quality Management Plan" must be established every five years to promote customized air quality management reflecting regional characteristics.

The province is currently preparing an implementation plan for the Basic Air Quality Management Plan for the Central Region.

Specifically, the province will expand and implement a total quantity management system for Type 1 to 3 large-scale emission businesses to reduce air pollutant emissions.

Additionally, the goal is to reduce the total air pollutant emissions by more than 40% from 2018-2019 levels by 2024.

As measures to reduce mobile source emissions, the province is focusing on controlling emissions from vehicles and construction machinery, including ▲ management of old diesel vehicles and support for low-emission measures for construction machinery ▲ conversion of children's school vehicles to LPG vehicles ▲ support for LPG 1-ton cargo trucks.

Accordingly, owners of diesel vehicles rated as Grade 5 emission vehicles within the zone must verify compliance with strengthened vehicle emission standards through comprehensive inspections, and if they fail to meet the standards, they must install emission reduction devices or modify/replace the engine with a low-emission engine.

Furthermore, only construction machinery and diesel vehicles that have completed low-emission measures can be used in civil engineering and construction projects worth 10 billion KRW or more conducted by public institutions within the jurisdiction.

Measures for managing small-scale and other emission sources around residential areas include support for installing and replacing eco-friendly boilers, restrictions on pollutant-related activities, and orders to install prevention facilities, which will be included in city and provincial ordinances to be enacted.

Kim Chan-bae, Director of the Climate and Environment Bureau of the province, stated, "With the enforcement of the Air Quality Control Zone Act, businesses and diesel vehicle owners will be subject to new obligations," and added, "We ask for the interest and participation of residents to ensure that the new obligations are properly implemented on site."