News Release

AACOG recognizes Alamo Clean Air Partnership Charter Members

San Antonio, August 17, 2005 – The Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) will be hosting a recognition ceremony for Charter Members of a newly formed organization, the Alamo Clean Air Partnership.  The ceremony will take place during the Air Improvement Resources Executive/Advisory Committee on at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday, August 24, 2005, in the AACOG Board Room, 8700 Tesoro Drive, Suite 100, San Antonio, Texas. Charter Members are: HEB, Raba-Kistner Consultants, Inc., San Antonio Water System, and USAA.

The Alamo Area Council of Governments created the Alamo Clean Air Partnership (ACAP) program earlier this year in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.  The program was created to give companies and agencies the opportunity to join a voluntary program that encourages the reduction of air pollution in San Antonio and surrounding counties and cities.  Examples of pollution reduction measures that any company or agency can adopt include energy conservation, flexible work schedules, and the promotion of employee carpooling programs, along with use of mass transit.  ACAP members pledge to reduce the amount of air pollution they produce, helping our region regain our clean air status with the Environmental Protection Agency for the federal Clean Air Standard for ozone.

The San Antonio region is in violation of federal standards for ground-level ozone.  Thanks to an Early Action Compact agreement signed by local elected officials in Bexar, Guadalupe, Comal, and Wilson counties, in partnership with the State and Federal government, our region has a brief opportunity to clean up our air using local strategies of our own choosing.  If we successfully improve the region’s air quality, everyone will profit from health, economic, and energy security benefits.

            The companies and agencies that will be honored recognize the importance of reducing air pollution, and are taking leadership roles in the effort to improve our region’s air quality, health, and economic vitality. For more information on ACAP, go to: http://www.aacog.com/acap.

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