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Lindquist starts term as NWCAA board chairman

Seth Preston, Feb. 15, 2017

MOUNT VERNON – Clean air is important to Joe Lindquist and his family.

“We enjoy many activities outside. I run outside many mornings year round. We spend a great deal of time on the water during the summer months. We also enjoy hiking at Little Mountain Park in Mount Vernon,” he said.

Lindquist, a Mount Vernon City Council member, just started his one-year term as chairman of the Northwest Clean Air Agency Board of Directors. He takes over from Richard Hannold, an Island County commissioner who served as chairman in 2016.

“NWCAA has been a well-run organization for a long time, and I want to continue to see the agency act as a partner with industry in keeping the air in our region clean,” he said.

In 2017, the Northwest Clean Air Agency is marking 50 years of protecting air quality in Island, Skagit and Whatcom counties. The agency was founded in 1967 after the creation of the Washington Clean Air Act.

“I believe my role on the board really requires that I make sure that the agency is acting in the best interest of our community as it relates to clean air,” Lindquist said. “We also must make sure that as a regulator we are not stifling our local economy. I believe that NWCAA has a long history of working with industry to act as a partner when it comes to clean air, rather than simply a regulatory entity handing out fines.”

Board members chose Brian Heinrich, City of Bellingham deputy administrator, as vice chairman and at-large member Terry Nyman as secretary.

Other board members are Hannold, Jim Campbell of the Oak Harbor City Council, Carl Weimer of the Whatcom County Council, and Skagit County Commissioner Ron Wesen.