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Hood River Air Quality

County: Hood River

Resource Concerns: 

  • Air quality emissions ‐ Emissions of particulate matter (PM) and PM precursors
  • Air quality emissions ‐ Emissions of ozone precursors

Project Description
Air Quality management in Hood River county to reduce the use of diesel burning smudge pots and replace with cleaner burning technology. Other project goals include improving air quality through the reduction of open pile burning by using grinding, chipping, or clean burning methods.

Conservation Practices

  • Combustion System Improvement (372)
  • Field Operations Emissions Reduction (376)

Project Partners

  • OSU Extension
  • Hood River County
  • Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers
  • Hood River Soil and Water Conservation District
  • NRCS Oregon
  • Private landowners

Application Questions
NRCS uses prioritization questions to evaluate applications for this initiative. See the list of workload prioritization questions on the Oregon EQIP page. Ranking questions below will also apply.

Ranking Questions

  1. How much reduction in diesel smudge pots?
    1. The upgrade to another form of frost control other than diesel burning heaters, on the offered ground, will result in zero diesel smudge pots remaining on any of your operation. 
    2. The land you are offering to upgrade to another form of frost control will provide a significant (significant meaning 75% or more) reduction in the number of diesel smudge pots on your operation. 
    3. Diesel smudge pots are not present on the operation or the number being upgraded is less than 75% of the operation acres.
       
  2. Are you applying to dispose of orchard wood waste in a manner other than open pile burning?
    1. Alternative methods such as chipping will be used to manage woody orchard waste rather than open pile burning. Wood chip waste will be utilized on the operation as mulch for trees or dust control. 
    2. Orchard waste will be disposed of in a manner other than open pile burning. Waste will be hauled off-site. 
    3. Already using alternative method of Field Operations Emissions Reduction will not be planned. 
       

Contact
Carly Heron, District Conservationist
Hood River County
6780 Hwy 35
Parkdale, OR 97041
541-352-1037
Carly.Heron@usda.gov