Prince George Air Quality Roundtable

The Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable (PGAIR) is a non-profit society that brings together multiple interests to work collaboratively towards continuous improvement of outdoor air quality within the Prince George airshed.

Prince George faces serious, longstanding air quality problems. These are linked primarily to topography, emissions from transportation, industry, road dust and burning of wood for home heating and recreational use. Air quality improvements are encouraging, and work is underway to further reduce harmful emissions and protect the health of residents.

PGAIR was founded in 2006. It is not a regulatory body and has no formal authority to permit or regulate air quality emissions. However, among PGAIR members are regulatory agencies that can use regulatory tools. Members of PGAIR come from local and provincial government agencies, industry, academia, community groups and members of the public, health agencies, commercial and transportation sectors. The Fraser Basin Council serves as PGAIR secretariat.

The BC Community Wood Smoke Reduction Program offers incentives to encourage British Columbia residents to exchange older, smoky wood-burning appliances for low-emission appliances, including pellet and EPA-certified clean burning wood stoves or inserts. Continuing in 2025 is a $300 incentive for simply removing and decommissioning an old, smoky, non-emissions certified wood stove, without the need for an exchange

Learn more on the PGAIR site.

Through a Burn It Clean initiative, PGAIR has long supported public education for those who heat with wood, such as best practices for selecting, drying, storing and burning.

The Fraser Basin Council has included Burn it Clean videos in its Wood Smoke Information Resources Portal.

In 2023 the report Advancing Air Quality and Climate Co-Benefits in the Prince George Airshed was released by PGAIR and a student team with the UBC School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP).

The report identified funding opportunities for each Big Move, and suggested timelines and lead organization(s) for each proposed action. Each proposed action is supported by example actions categorized by six action types to reflect the diverse approaches that the partner organizations can apply in the airshed.

PGAIR provides support and input to the Prince George Air Quality Monitoring Society, facilitating information sharing and monitoring network funding and maintenance.