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Petition Filed with EPA to Clean up Particulate Pollution in 21 Dirty Air Areas
Contact: Jeremy Nichols (303) 573-4898 x 1303

Denver—WildEarth Guardianstoday petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to rein in dangerouslevels of particulate matter air pollution in 21 areas in eight western states,including Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, andWyoming.

“We need the EPA to step up and put these areas on the pathto clean up,” said Jeremy Nichols, Climate and Energy Program Director forWildEarth Guardians. “These dustyskies are not only dangerous, they’re a sign that air quality throughout thewest is at risk. We need relief.”

Air quality monitoring data for the 21 areas shows that health-basedstandards limiting particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter, or 1/7ththe width of a human hair, also known as PM-10, are being violated.

Breathing PM-10 can lead to a number of adverse healtheffects, including irritation of the airways, coughing, or difficultybreathing, decreased lung function, aggravated asthma, development of chronicbronchitis, nonfatal heart attacks; and premature death in people with heart orlung disease (see the EPA’s website, http://www.epa.gov/air/particlepollution/health.html).

Under the Clean Air Act, if an area violates any ambient airquality standard, the EPA is required to ensure States clean up the airpollution. Despite violating PM-10standards, the EPA has yet to put the 21 areas on the path to clean up.

The areas violating PM-10 standards, by state, include:

• Arizona: Douglas, Nogales, Tucson, and Yuma.
• Colorado: Alamosa, Durango, Grand Junction,Lamar, Pagosa Springs, and Parachute.
• Montana: A portion of Jefferson County southof Helena.
• Nevada: Pahrump.
• NewMexico: Anthony, Chaparral,Deming, Las Cruces, and Sunland Park.
• Oklahoma: Tulsa.
• Utah: Salt Lake and Utah Counties.
• Wyoming: A portion of Sweetwater County nearPoint of Rocks.

An interactive Google Earth map showing the location ofthese areas and the air quality monitors can be viewed at http://climatewest.org/pm-10-dirty-air-areas-targeted-for-cleanup/.

Under the Clean Air Act, if an area violates PM-10 standards,the EPA is required to designate the area as “nonattainment,” which triggersdeadlines for States to clean up the air pollution and protect publichealth. Where an area that isalready designated as “nonattainment” violates PM-10 air quality standards, theEPA must reclassify its designation as “Serious,” which imposes more stringentclean up requirements. In thiscase, WildEarth Guardians called for 15 areas to be designated as“nonattainment” and for six additional areas to be reclassified as “Serious”nonattainment areas, including Douglas, AZ, Nogales, AZ, Yuma, AZ, Anthony, NM,Salt Lake County, UT, and Utah County, UT.

The sources of PM-10 pollution in these areas include dustblown from disturbed lands, mining operations, coal-fired power plants and oilrefineries, dirt roads, and other kinds of burning (e.g., wood stoves,industrial boilers). For example,in Salt Lake County, copper mining at Kennecott Utah Copper’s Bingham CanyonMine and coal-fired smelter have contributed to violations.

“These air quality violations are a sign of out control airpollution,” said Nichols. “Thesesources—whether they be coal-fired power plants or dusty roads—need to bereined in. It’s time for clean airto come first in these areas.”

In some cases, violations of PM-10 standards have beenongoing. For example, Salt LakeCounty, which includes Salt Lake City, has violated PM-10 standards every yearsince 1999. A violation of thePM-10 standards occurs whenever the three-year average of the number ofexceedances of the standards exceeds 1.0. The PM-10 standards are exceeded whenever concentrations exceed 150micrograms/cubic meter over a 24-hour period.

WildEarth Guardians petitioned the EPA under theAdministrative Procedure Act, a federal law that provides any citizen the rightto petition the government to issue a rule. In this case, Guardians petitioned the EPA to issue a ruleto ensure PM-10 pollution in the 21 areas is cleaned up. The petition calls on the EPA torespond within 90 days.