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�Oxy� gas, smoke regulation begin Nov. 1 By Paul Fattig Oxygenated gasoline will begin pouring into gas tanks and regulated smoke out of residential smokestacks Wednesday. Nov. 1 marks the start of the annual oxygenated fuel season and the beginning of wood-burning regulations for wood stoves and fireplaces in Jackson County. Both moves aimed at reducing air pollutants end Feb. 28, 2001. Requiring oxygenated fuel is an effort to reduce carbon monoxide pollution from vehicle emissions during the winter months. However, the switch to the fuel additive may be dropped in Southern Oregon because of improved air conditions, beginning next year in Klamath Falls and the following year in Jackson County, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality, which monitors the program. A similar fuel additive program for Grants Pass, which would have also started Wednesday, has been dropped because of improved air quality in recent years, said John Becker, the DEQ�s air quality manager for the state�s western region. The federal Environmental Protection Agency, at the request of the DEQ, has reclassified Grants Pass as an area that now meets federal carbon monoxide standards, he said. The change was made possible because of improved traffic flow and new technology, he said. Similar improved conditions have resulted in the Medford-Ashland Air Quality Advisory Committee recommending to the DEQ that it lift the fuel additive program in Jackson County. However, the earliest this could come about is the winter season of 2002-03, DEQ officials said. The Clean Air Act renewed by Congress in 1990 requires areas with winter air pollution problems to use oxygenated gasoline. Beginning in 1992, service stations in Jackson County and Grants Pass began pumping oxygenated gas during the winter season. The fuel additive is spiked with oxygen and contains ethanol. The wood-burning regulations, intended to reduce smoke buildup in the Rogue Valley, pertain to Ashland, Talent, Phoenix, Medford, Central Point and Jacksonville as well as rural residents in the Wood Burning Curtailment Area (WBCA) in Jackson County. The valley is susceptible to air pollution created by winter temperature inversions that reduce air flow and trap pollutants such as wood smoke on the valley floor, explained Gary Stevens, environmental health program manager for Jackson County. Advisories posted by the county via a daily telephone recording alert residents who rely on wood heat if weather conditions allow the release of smoke into the air. County residents can call 776-9000 to find out if air quality conditions allow them to fire up their wood stoves or fireplaces. A "green" alert means good air circulation is predicted while a "yellow" alert indicates poor air circulation is anticipated. A "red" alert means stagnant air conditions are expected. Meanwhile, all open burning � that which occurs outside the home � is prohibited in the Air Quality Maintenance Area (AQMA) during the same period beginning Nov. 1. The AQMA extends beyond the WBCA and includes the city of Eagle Point. Opening burning beyond the AQMA is allowed only under certain conditions. To find out if opening burning is allowed outside the AQMA on an given day, call 776-7007. For more information about any of the wood-burning regulations, call the Jackson County Air Quality Program at 774-8207 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.