ORCAA names new Lacey air monitoring station in honor of James P. Werner 

A new air monitoring station at Mountain View Elementary in Lacey will bear the name of James P. Werner, the late Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA) specialist whose work shaped the agency’s monitoring system. 

The ORCAA Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve Resolution 287, which authorizes the dedication of the new station under the name of James P. Werner Air Monitoring Station, during a meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 12. 

Jim Cooper, board chair and a City of Olympia councilman, underscored Werner’s impact on the agency. 

Werner joined ORCAA in 1981 as a laboratory technician and inspector in the agency’s former in-house laboratory. 

He later moved into an air monitoring role after the Washington State Department of Ecology assumed responsibility for statewide laboratory work. He also helped negotiate the placement of monitoring stations in Lacey, Shelton, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Aberdeen. 

In 1992, he and former ORCAA Compliance Supervisor Robert Moody built the original Mountain View monitoring shelter in Lacey. 

The facility housed particulate, gaseous, meteorological and toxic air equipment for 33 years, and later served as a testing platform for new technology under the Department of Ecology. ORCAA removed the building last summer in one piece, and it is now being repurposed. 

He also pushed for a 2007 federal grant that put the national core (NCore) site above Neah Bay into service in 2010. 

He then worked closely with the Makah Tribe throughout the development of Cheeka Peak NCore and played a key role in the tribe’s air monitoring program. 

When he retired in 2012, the tribe honored him with a plaque for his support of its monitoring work. Werner died unexpectedly in June 2025. 

Cooper said the dedication acknowledges Werner’s work in building and shaping the agency’s monitoring program. 

“We want to name the new shelter for (James P. Werner) to honor his integral role in creating ORCAA’s air monitoring program and the training and mentorship he provided his successor,” Cooper said. “A person who provided a lot for our community and our organization over 30 years.” 

ORCAA Executive Director Jeff Johnston told the board the agency will also hold a ceremony next month for the new station. He noted Werner’s family is expected to attend the dedication.