HomeMy WebLinkAbout930063.tiff RESOLUTION
RE: APPROVE AGRICULTURAL BURNING PROJECT GRANT APPLICATION AND AUTHORIZE
CHAIRMAN TO SIGN
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado,
pursuant to Colorado statute and the Weld County Home Rule Charter, is vested
with the authority of administering the affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and
WHEREAS, the Board has been presented with an Agricultural Burning Project
Grant Application for Federal Assistance between the Federal Environmental
Protection Agency and the Weld County Health Department, commencing June 1, 1993,
and ending May 31, 1994, with the further terms and conditions being as stated
in said application, and
WHEREAS, after review, the Board deems it advisable to approve said
application, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by
reference.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Weld
County, Colorado, that the Agricultural Burning Project Grant Application for
Federal Assistance between the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and the
Weld County Health Department be, and hereby is, approved.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board that the Chairman be, and hereby is,
authorized to sign said application.
The above and foregoing Resolution was, on motion duly made and seconded,
adopted by the following vote on the 13th day of January, A.D. , 1993.
/// BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ATTEST: / //I _Oa__ WELD COUNTY, COLORADO
Weld County Clerk to the Board
Constance L. H, rber/tt, Chy/aai�rmma�nn
Deputy erk to tha Bpard� W. H. bsteY, Pro-T
APPROVED A TO FORM:
orge E Baxter
County Attorney Dale K. Hall '7
/Barbara J. Kirkmeyer uA
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1 Weld County Agricultural Burning Project
2 The following proposal is being submitted in response to the solicitation notice
3 for Environmental Education Grants in Federal Register Volume 57, Number 201,
4 dated October 16, 1992. The application is for a $25,000 grant to fund the Weld
5 County Agricultural Burning Project to be implemented and completed between June
6 1, 1993 and May 31, 1994. Twenty-five percent of the grant will be matched with
7 in kind services by Weld County and commitments from outside agencies.
8 INTRODUCTION
9 Nature of the organization. Weld County Health Department is a local health
10 department whose mission it is to prevent disease and promote health of Weld
11 County citizens. The Environmental Protection Services Division of the Weld
12 County Health Department is responsible for providing technical assistance to
13 local governments in their attempts to maintain compliance with Federal Air
14 Quality Standards.
15 Project purpose. The purpose of the project is to decrease carbon monoxide and
16 particulate emissions in Weld County. The Greeley area has had violations of the
17 carbon monoxide standard and has a Strategic Implementation Plan in place.
18 Objective. The emissions from agricultural burning will be reduced by 25% by
19 March 1, 1994 using community organization to facilitate the diffusion of the
20 innovation of agricultural burning control throughout Weld County. Educational
21 strategies and activities based on the Health Belief Model and Social Learning
22 Theory will be used.
23 Methodology. The first phase of the project will involve establishment of an
24 agricultural coalition for air quality. An information campaign will be
25 conducted to address components of the Health Belief Model. This information
26 campaign will consists of presentations before agricultural organizations and
27 clubs. The presentations will provide opportunity for modeling, skill training,
28 contracting to occur. Farmers will also be encouraged at that time to commit to
29 self monitoring. Press releases, and media interviews on local radio and
30 television will also be used to increase awareness. A follow up on the voluntary
31 contracts will also be done on a monthly basis.
32 Target audience. All educational activities will target the agricultural
33 community of all of Weld County. However, for purposes of evaluation the pre and
34 post surveys will evaluate agricultural managers within a seven (7) mile radius
35 of Greeley.
36 Expected results. Through the activities of this project Weld County Health
37 Department expects to increase the awareness of the agricultural community of the
38 importance of minimizing emissions from agricultural burning. In addition, to
39 increased awareness, the Department expects to see an increase in participation
40 in the local Weld County Air Quality Campaign.
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1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION
2 The project is designed to meet the EPA objectives. It provides for the
3 facilitation of communication and the motivation of the general public to be more
4 environmentally conscious, resulting in informed decisions about the environment.
5 Increased communication is expected to be facilitated through the development of
6 the agricultural air quality coalition. This coalition will be used to extend
7 network of communication throughout Weld County. The agricultural community is
8 expected to be motivated through the use of the informational campaign based on
9 the Health Belief Model as described previously.
10 Educational strategies and activities based on the Health Belief Model and Social
11 Learning Theory will be used. The Health Belief Model outlines four (4) beliefs
12 that act as determinants of whether or not one will take a recommended course of
13 preventive health behavior. They are as follows:
14 1. Perceived seriousness
15 2. Perceived susceptibility
16 3. Perceived benefits
17 4. Perceived barriers
18 The degree to which the agricultural community perceives that air quality as a
19 serious problem, will determine how likely they are to adopt control methods.
20 The same is true with the sense of susceptibility; one could feel that the
21 problem with air pollution is serious, but not believe that he is susceptible to
22 the problems it causes. One must also have confidence that definite benefits
23 will be gained by adopting the health behavior. Finally, if one feels that there
24 are obstacles which block one's participation in the innovation, one is more
25 likely to avoid changing behavior.
26 The first phase of the project will involve establishment of an agricultural
27 coalition for air quality. Innovators and opinion leaders in the local
28 agricultural community have been identified through the functioning of the
29 existing Greeley/Weld Clean Air Colorado Committee. These individuals will be
30 encouraged to serve on the coalition of farmers concerned with local air quality.
31 The coalition will assist in developing and coordinating the educational
32 activities which will occur among their peers. An information campaign will be
33 conducted to address the four (4) components of the Health Belief Model. This
34 information campaign will consists of presentations before agricultural
35 organizations and clubs. Press releases, and media interviews on local radio and
36 television will also be used to increase awareness amongst those individuals who
37 are likely to adop the innovations later as they are influenced by the current
38 innovators and early adopters.
39 The sense of perceived seriousness of susceptibility amongst the agricultural
40 community will be heightened through information that accentuates the effects of
41 air pollution on individuals as well as agronomic health. Information on the
42 benefits from decreased air pollution emissions will also be presented. Barriers
43 to the successful participation of area farmers in the agricultural burning
44 program will also be addressed. In order to better represent the concerns of the
45 agricultural community, and to exert peer influence, all information and campaign
46 activities will be coordinated through the agricultural air quality coalition.
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1 The projection will also use activities based on the Social Learning Theory in
2 order to facilitate the adoption of agricultural burning control among area
3 farmers. The most useful techniques of Social Learning Theory are modelling,
4 skill training, contracting, and self-monitoring. All of these techniques will
5 be used in the Weld County Agricultural Burning Project. In terms of modeling,
6 an instructional video will be produced using peers in the agricultural
7 community. Viewers will see their peers participating in the agricultural
8 burning campaign. Skill training will be provided at the club and organization
9 presentations. These presentations will offer current alternatives to burning
10 as well as provide training on how farmers can independently forecast high
11 pollution days successfully. Farmers will also be trained on how to tap
12 available resources which can help decisions which can assist them in making
13 decisions which will improve air quality.
14 To encourage accountability in the participation in the program, participants at
15 the presentations will be encouraged to fill out a voluntary contract or pledge
16 to announce their participation in the program and outlining their compliance
17 goal in the program. Those filling out contracts will be informed that they will
18 be followed-up on a monthly basis to determine their success and to encourage
19 continued participation in the program.
20 Finally, those participating in the contract activity will be encouraged to self-
21 monitor by charting their burning activity on a calendar and recording the
22 pollution status for those days burning occurred. To further reinforce the
23 modeling component of the Social Learning Activities the success of the members
24 of the agricultural coalition in maintaining their personal contract and self-
25 monitoring activities will be highlighted in press releases and media interviews.
26 As with the activities based on the Health Belief Model, all Social Learning
27 Theory activities will be coordinated through the Agricultural Air Quality
28 Coalition. Learning activities based on the Social Learning Theory are also
29 expected to result in informed decision being made about the environment.
30 The project develops an environmental education practice which is entirely new
31 to Weld County. Since the agricultural community has historically been non-
32 regulated in terms of air quality, little attention has been payed to addressing
33 agricultural influences on air quality. An all out educational approach of this
34 magnitude has never been attempted in Weld County, in terms of soliciting active
35 participation in a environmental program among the agricultural community. A
36 survey of literature shows that this type of project has not been tried to a
37 large extent elsewhere in the United States. Since agricultural burning is a
38 traditional practice used by farmers world wide, this project is expected to have
39 very wide application.
40 Finally, the project addresses an environmental issue which is of high priority.
41 The issue of improving air quality is of top priority as stated in the Weld
42 County Health Objectives For The Year 2000. This document challenges the
43 residents and agencies of Weld County to improve overall air quality in Weld
44 County by increasing participation of citizens in the Weld County Clean Air
45 Campaign. In addition, to the concern with carbon monoxide levels, there has
46 been local concern with particulate levels, especially secondary particulates
47 which cause a deterioration in the visible quality of the air -- "the brown
48 cloud". Locally it was determined in the 1991 Greeley/Weld Air Quality Survey,
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1 that 68% of local residents feel that local air quality appears poor in terms of
2 visibility, 50% feel that it is a somewhat serious problem, while 9% feel it is
3 a very serious problem compared to other community problems. Local concern has
4 pointed its finger at agricultural burning as a significant source of emissions
5 contributing to the brown cloud problem, particularly in the Fall and Spring.
6 It is the desire of this department to develop cooperative strategies with which
7 to minimize the contribution by agricultural burning to local air quality
8 problems. Currently agricultural burning is not regulated. This further
9 necessitates the development of a voluntary program to minimize burning,
10 especially on high pollution days. The State mandated visibility standard has
11 also caused local attention to be directed towards particulates, even though the
12 particulate standard has not been exceeded in the past. In addition to the
13 concern with the visual quality of the air, local residents have expressed
14 concern with the effects of particulate emissions especially among those with
15 impaired respiratory function.
16 PROJECT FOCUS:
17 The project closes gaps in existing environmental education programs in Weld
18 County in that it addresses a critical population of Weld County which has never
19 been targeted intensely in terms of air quality control. The project teaches
20 about risk reduction and pollution prevention through the informational campaign
21 which is based on the Health Belief Model, the project also teaches risk
22 reduction and pollution prevention through the use of modeling, skill training,
23 contracting, and self-monitoring. Through all of these activities pollution
24 prevention will be highlighted through management of burning schedules and the
25 eventual application of alternatives to agricultural burning.
26 CONCLUSION: Projection Evaluation
27 The success of the project will be evaluated through the use of pre and post
28 surveys. These surveys will be conducted among a random sample of farmers in the
29 seven (7) mile radius of Greeley. This survey will measure awareness and
30 participation in the Weld County Agricultural Burning Project.
31 The project is expected to have its greatest strengths in the use of peers on the
32 agricultural coalition. One of the greatest challenges will be in tapping this
33 population which is firmly entrenched in tradition and has historically resented
34 the intrusion into their matters by government. It is hoped that by having the
35 support of the Agricultural Coalition will offset some of the anticipated
36 apprehension.
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47520 Federal Register/ Vol. 57. No. 201 / Friday. October 18. 1992 / Notices •
APPLICATION FOR OMIA0c, •("nowaou
FEDERAL ASSISTANCE LOAN SUryrTEO AOOMim lantna
January 15, 1993
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1517 16th Ave. Ct. Greeley,C0 80631 Environmental Protection Services
(303) 353-0586. extension 2219
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BUDGET CATEGORIES
Personnel $16,823
Fringe Benefits $ 2,860
Travel $ 1,000
Equipment $ - 0 -
Supplies $ 1,364
Contractual $ - 0 -
Construction $ - 0 -
Other $ _ 0 _
TOTAL DIRECT $22,047
Indirect Charges $ 2,953
TOTAL $25,000
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BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
Personnel
.50 FTE Environmental Protection Specialist $ 12,475
.25 FTE Office Technician III 4,348
$ 16,823
Fringe Benefits
At 179. $ 2,860
Travel
4,000 miles x $.25 $ 1,000
Supplies
Office Supplies, Xeroxing, etc. $ 1,364
Indirect Charges - at 15% of Personnel and Fringe $ 2,953
TOTAL $ 25,000
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mEmORAnDum
Constance L. Harbert, Chairman
Board of County Commissioners January 12, 1993
To Date
COLORADO Jeannie K. Tacker, Business Manager, Weld County Health Dept., It
From
Agricultural Burning Project Grant Application
Subject:
Enclosed for Board approval is a grant application to the Federal Environmental
Protection Agency for a agricultural Burning Project.
The activities of this environmental educational grant will be to increase the
awareness of the agricultural community of the importance of minimizing emissions
from agricultural burning.
The funds requested in this grant application will be $25,000.00 and the term of
the project shall be from June 1, 1993 through June 1, 1994.
I would recommend your approval of this grant application.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
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