As part of the NTC’s work to improve air quality in North Texas, we manage the largest network of air pollution monitors in the North Texas region. Our 21 stations are spread across the greater North Texas region (including Wichita Falls and Abilene) and continuously monitor the air for the presence of 84 volatile organic compounds (or “VOCs”). VOCs include pollutants that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects; some VOCs also contribute to ozone formation. VOCs are monitored to assess the potential for measured concentrations to impair health. The NTC Regional Air Monitoring Program is a collaboration with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and is the product of a 2011 bi-partisan legislative effort (SB 527) to gather better data about the impact of increased drilling in the Barnett Shale on North Texas air quality.

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In early 2012, the NTC convened a committee of representatives from North Texas municipalities, universities, businesses, and non-profits to identify potential locations for new monitors. Working closely with the TCEQ, this committee finalized its list of recommended sites. By September 2012, we completed installation of our first “automated gas chromatograph” (or “AutoGC”) station on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington, directly adjacent to an active natural gas drilling site. Since then, we have created a total of eleven entirely new air monitoring stations, replaced equipment at an additional six stations, and assumed management of four other stations already in operation.