Whitehorse city council is calling on the Yukon government to come up with some air quality standards.

At their meeting Monday evening, city councillors discussed lobbying the government, via the Association of Yukon Communities (AYC), to enact air quality standards territory-wide to have more uniform environmental standards.

Robert Fendrick, the city's director of administrative services, said Monday city officials began looking into air quality standards during the McLean Lake concrete batch plant and quarry debate.

'This resolution arises from some of the discussion we had around the McLean Lake issue.

'There are no air quality standards in the Yukon,' he said.

Fendrick said in an interview this morning that what the city is looking for is air quality benchmarks, similar to water quality, which measure what is and is not in the air.

'We're looking for benchmarks,' he said.

'This resolution will be tabled at the AYC general meeting in May,' he said.

According to city documents, the city has dealt with air quality issues on a number of occasions in the past few years.

The City of Whitehorse has a long history of air quality issues, especially during thermal inversions, particularly as they relate to wood smoke and motor vehicle exhaust fumes.

'As air quality issues are of concern to all northern communities, it would be beneficial for the senior government to bring forward legislation rather than having each community deal with them on an individual basis,' city documents state.

'Currently the Government of Yukon, under the Environment Act, has an air emissions regulation that requires permits for some known to produce air emissions activities, but there are no air quality standards.'

Coun. Doug Graham said he is looking for the government to do more monitoring of air quality in the territory.

'During the McLean Lake debate, we were always asked what can we do to prevent things like ashpalt plants from spewing things into the environment. There's nothing we can do about it.'

He said as far as he knows, the government has a permiting process but very little follow-up.

'They don't do any ongoing testing.'

Dennis Senger, a territorial Department of Environment spokesperson, said this morning there are a number of regulations in place to protect air quality, including permitting processes.

Senger said the city's idea of air quality standards could be looked into but his department would require a more specific request before examining the issue.

Senger said the city's current request would be difficult to consider in its present state because air quality could fall under his department, another department or a combination of departments' mandates.

'We would have to take a look at what the city is asking for and determine things from there.

'It could be a matter for the Department of Health and Social Services,' he said.

'It could take a while, but it could be considered.'

John Steele, a spokesperson with the Ontario government's environment department, said today his province has had various forms of air quality standards for about 25 years.

Steele said monitoring air quality standards involves permitting businesses that will be emitting toxic substances into the atmosphere to ensure their emissions fall below a set standard as well as studies in communities to assess pollutant levels and reports detailing what's currently in the atmosphere.

'We have had our air quality standards based on environmental and health effects. The standards are revised every so often. Our standards development branch is tasked with reviewing the information from time to time; they're toxicologists.'

According to the Ontario government, one of the newest air regulations, Regulation 419, was enacted in 2005.

'In November 2005, the ministry's (environment) Ontario Regulation 419/05: Air Pollution Local Air Quality, took effect. It was the biggest move on air toxins in more than 25 years.

'Through Regulation 419, the province sets air quality standards based on values that protect against health and environmental effects as opposed to setting provincial standards that consider technical or economic issues.

'The alternative standard process was developed to establish interim site -specific standards with the goal of continuous improvement toward achieving the effects-based standard over time.'

Companies looking to establish a facility that will emit pollution must provide, upon request, a variety of information, including:

a summary table from an emission summary and dispersion modeling report;

a technology benchmarking report which assesses and ranks technical methods for reductions;

a public consultation report; and

a date-specific action plan.