Air Quality

Air pollutants are those substances present in ambient air that negatively affect human health and welfare, animal and plant life, property, and the enjoyment of life or use of property. Ambient pollutant concentrations result from interaction between meteorology and pollutant emissions. Because meteorology can’t be controlled, emissions must be managed to control pollutant concentrations.

The two emissions datasets, Large Industrial Emissions and Oil and Gas Compressor Emissions, can be used along with the permitting and compliance datasets to identify potential polluting areas of the county.

The Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970 and its amendments set the laws and regulations regarding air quality, give authority to the US Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)to set standards and rules, and delegate regulatory authority to individual states with EPA oversight,provided certain criteria are met. The purpose of air quality conformity regulations, enforced by the EPA and the Utah Division of Air Quality (DAQ) in Utah, is to protect public health and welfare by lowering pollutant concentrations through a reduction in emissions.

CAA Provisions Affecting SEUALG Area
The CAA is the main body of legislation regulating air quality in the US. It a huge piece of legislation with many areas of focus. It addresses air pollution emissions from stationary (power plants, mines, refineries, etc.) and mobile sources (cars, trucks, trains, etc.), setting minimum concentrations of pollutants that are widespread and harmful to human health, limiting emissions of particularly harmful chemical compounds, improving air quality in areas with poor air quality, keeping the air clean in areas with good air quality, and delegating regulatory authority. While all of these have some effect on the counties in SEUALG, there are a few parts that impact the SEUALG counties more than others. A summary of the most relevant pieces of the CAA and example impacts in SEUALG is provided, along with links to resources for more in depth exploration.

A major provision of the CAA requires the EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria pollutants. Criteria pollutants are those that endanger public health or welfare and are widely emitted. The EPA has established NAAQS for six criteria pollutants: ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM), and lead (Pb). The CAA requires state and local ambient air quality standards be equal to or lower in concentration than the NAAQS. State of Utah laws and rules regarding air quality set the state standards equal to the NAAQS. Based on sampling performed to date, all areas in SEUALG counties meet the NAAQS and are not required to reduce emissions in order improve air quality like counties along the Wasatch Front. However, areas with poor air quality with respect to the NAAQS can and do affect the air quality in the SEUALG area – elevated pollution levels measured at Canyonlands National Park have been observed after air masses passed over areas in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah with air quality issues [1,2].

Perhaps the most significant impact on SEUALG counties is the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program, which was established to keep areas with clean air clean by regulating the amount of pollution that could be added to these airsheds in the future. Three classes (I, II, and III) were created; Class I areas have the lowest allowed future emissions increase, Class II a moderate increase, and Class III have the largest increase. Areas established as Class I were larger national parks, national monuments, and wilderness areas, all areas in which a clean atmosphere with good visibility is important [3]. All other federally protected areas with clean air were categorized as Class II. Arches National Park in Grand County and Canyonlands National Park in Grand, San Juan, Garfield, and Wayne counties are among the five Class I areas in Utah. Proposed new pollutant sources or changes to existing sources must demonstrate increases in pollutant concentrations within the allowable limit. This is more difficult near a Class I area due to a lower allowed pollutant increase. This requires greater pollution controls, a decrease in production, and/or an increase in production per unit of pollutant emissions to meet lower emission limits.

The Regional Haze Rule was set by the EPA to maintain or improve air quality throughout the country, especially in Class I areas such as Arches and Canyonlands national parks. This rule requires regulatory entities within each region of the US to collaborate on plans to reduce emissions and improve visibility. Visibility is a measure of how clear the air is and the effect of air pollution on how well we can see and resolve distant scenes [4]. The criteria pollutants NO2, O3, CO, SO2, and PM affect visibility as well as health. Studies have shown that pollution can be transported large distances and have significant impacts in remote areas. One study showed air at Canyonlands National Park with higher pollution levels traveled from southern California, southern Nevada,western Arizona, and southern Utah before arriving during summer and from northern and central Utah during winter [2]. Another winter study in the Colorado Plateau showed the dominant sources of oxides of sulfur (SOx, including SO2) were from the southwest direction at most locations [1]. The state of Utah is part of the Western Regional Air Partnership and has developed the Regional Haze State Implementation Plan in collaboration with stakeholders. This plan has gone through several revisions to bring impacts down to EPA-accepted levels since 2000. A major piece of the latest revision addressed reducing emissions from the Hunter and Huntington Power Plants located in Emery County.

The CAA also places control of local air quality at the state level with federal oversight in most areas.The local air quality management agency for most of the SEUALG area is the Utah DAQ. Rules and policies pertaining to air quality activities and plans to improve poor air quality are set by the Utah Air Quality Board. The DAQ conducts statewide air quality monitoring and research, air emissions permitting and compliance monitoring, air quality compliance planning activities, and public education, outreach, and support programs. The DAQ also supports the Air Quality Board in fulfilling its purposes.The DAQ, however, does not have regulatory authority on reservation lands and in those adjacent areas identified as “Indian Country” regardless of land ownership.The EPA fulfills the regulatory function for air on behalf of Native American tribes. Carbon, Grand, and San Juan counties each have areas under tribal/EPA jurisdiction. Air quality issues in areas containing both jurisdictions require coordinated efforts and plans.

The following are examples of goals and policies from existing city and county plans and federal land management plans that could be included or modified for county resource management plans.

• Discourage projects that would substantially decrease air quality or violate air quality standards established by the State of Utah [5].
• The County recognizes that one of the threats to the County’s air quality is catastrophic wildfire and encourages Agencies to enact programs that allow prescribed burning, forest improvement techniques such as forest thinning, pruning, and removal of brush and insect-killed trees, and other methods for reducing fire hazard that ultimately protects air quality [6].
• Agencies should provide for the continuation of agricultural and prescribed burning as a resource management tool in accordance with air quality regulations [6].
• Agencies should establish forest management programs that encourage fuel reduction of forests and wildlands by means other than burning, utilizing all means of fuel reduction including but not limited to: logging, forest thinning, and chipping, brush mastication, livestock grazing, herbicide use, and public firewood utilization [6].
• Minimize health risks from air pollution and sustain the county’s Class I air quality status [7].
• Encourage the National Park Service to continue monitoring air quality at Island in the Sky, to expand its air quality monitoring program and to notify the county of trends and potential air quality issues [7].
• Align development permit standards and review procedures with state and federal air-quality rules and regulations and mobilize state and federal air-quality agencies for enforcement [7].
• Enforce dust regulations in the Land Use Code [7].
• Support efforts to establish an air quality committee to compile and share data with local and regional agencies and maintain relations with state and federal air-quality agencies [7].
• When the sources of air pollutants are within the parks themselves (or other area of interest), these sources should be controlled to the maximum extent practicable, and should never be operated at the expense of the air resource [3].
• Public education on the importance of clean air and the impacts of poor air quality [3].
• Participation in public comment requests on air quality related issues [8].
• Proactively manage air quality and atmospheric values during land management planning and when authorizing uses of the public lands while maintaining BLM’s multiple-use management responsibilities [9].

Economic consequences of poor air quality may include:

• Increased time away from work and health care costs associated with stroke, heart disease, chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma, and premature death [10,11,12].
• Decreased appeal of tourism [10,13], especially with respect to the scenic resources throughout the SEUALG area.
• Deterring new businesses and industries from moving to the area [10,14].
• Increased operating expenses for significant pollutant sources due to pollution control measures as required by air quality management plans.
• Stunted growth and yield of agricultural crops [10,15].
• Threat of additional federal regulation and potentially reduced highway funding [16].

Some general impact considerations are:

• Construction and mining projects require assessment of air quality impacts and may require an emissions permit and/or a fugitive dust control plan from the DAQ.
• Fines of up to $10,000 per day may be issued if rules/laws are not properly followed.
• On public lands, important air quality issues include visibility (especially in Class I areas), fire management (wildland and prescribed), fugitive dust from exposed soils (e.g., mining area disturbances, exposed lake beds, unpaved roads, and construction sites), and air pollutant emissions from energy and mineral resource development, hazardous materials management, etc.

Air Quality Measurement in Utah
The Utah DAQ conducts air quality measurements throughout the state of Utah with a focus toward those areas with a history of poor air quality and NAAQS exceedances, particularly along the Wasatch Front. To date, sampling in the SEUALG counties has not shown NAAQS exceedances so the DAQ has only established long-term sampling at one location within its boundaries. This site is located in Price, Carbon County and measures NO2, O3, and various meteorological variables [17].The DAQ provides an annual report summarizing ambient air quality data, emissions data, compliance monitoring results, and Division efforts over each calendar year [17]. Included in this annual report are criteria pollutant concentration trend graphs and how they relate to the applicable NAAQS. The following summaries are provided from the 2015 annual report for the Price measurement site:

• Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2): Emitted from high temperature combustion. Utah has never exceeded the NO2 standards and the relevant calculated statistics for the Price site over the last 5 years were less than 40% of the NAAQS. Officials are mindful of the NO2 emissions trends due to its role in forming other criteria pollutants such as O3 and PM.
• Ozone (O3): Formed through chemical reactions in the atmosphere between oxides of nitrogen, including NO2, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). O3 concentrations have generally decreased over the last 5 years except during 2012. The Price site met both the current and the proposed NAAQS.

The National Park Service measures air quality in parks and monuments throughout the US as part of their air resources management program in order to establish baseline pollutant concentrations and monitor potential air quality impacts on natural and scenic resources [3]. One measurement site is near the Island-in-the-Sky visitors center in Canyonlands National Park.

“Canyonlands is considered a Class I area under the Clean Air Act, which requires that the park receives the highest level of air-quality protection. Consequently, Canyonlands participates in the National Park Service’s comprehensive air resources management program, designed to assess air pollution impacts and protect air quality related resources.” [19]

Measurements made at Canyonlands National Park include light transmission to calculate visibility, O3 concentration, dust events through a webcam, and both dry and wet deposition of nitrogen. The most recent trend analysis available showed that for the period 2000-2009, during which the Regional Haze Rule emissions reductions began, the visibility in Canyonlands during the 20% worst days of each year did not change much but there was a trend toward greater visibility for the 20% best days [18].A similar trend is assumed for Arches National Park due to its proximity to Canyonlands National Park.

The Data Download section of this page provides links and summary descriptions of various air quality data sets that can be accessed through either websites or agency personnel. Note that data type, data quality, and period of collection may vary and that the AirData database requires the user create a free account to access data.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Also of import to this discussion on air quality data is the manner in which NAAQS attainment is determined. This is set within each individual NAAQS and varies substantially. As stated by the 2015 DAQ Annual Report, the standard specifies a numerical concentration averaged over some period of time and a statistical form (annual mean, maximum, 98th percentile, etc.). For instance, the PM10 NAAQS states that a 24-hour average PM10 concentration of 150 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) is not to be exceeded more than once per year on average over three years. This table provides the descriptions of how attainment/nonattainment is assessed for criteria pollutants.

Relevant Contacts
The following table lists contact information for several individuals/organizations associated with air quality data collection, air quality compliance planning, and rules/policy formation and implementation in the SEUALG counties.