Growth is biggest obstacle to cleaner air By DENNIS McLERRAN Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency The Environmental Protection Agency's new standards for ground-level ozone and particulate matter have received lots of media attention in recent weeks. Although the impact on our region is not completely clear yet, our goal is crystal clear. We want to be off the list when EPA identifies nonattainment areas in a few years. We have a head start since we have met the old ozone and particulate matter standards, but we'll have to be vigilant if we are to meet the new standards in the face of the significant growth projected for our region. We were redesignated last fall as an attainment area under the old standard for ground-level ozone, the primary ingredient in smog. The good news is that means we've cleaned up the air we breathe. The bad news is that our air is just slightly cleaner than the old standard. Total vehichle miles traveled have been increasing three to four times the rate of population growth. EPA allows for three years of monitoring and data gathering before attainment or nonattainment decisions are made for the new ozone standard. We need to do everything we can during that time period to make sure we are in attainment. This is important for several reasons, not the least of which is to ensure we all have clean air to breathe. It's also important because an area out of attainment has a stigma both in terms of environmental health and economic vitality. In addition, we could be required to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in planning costs to develop strategies that demonstrate to EPA how we will get into and remain in attainment. That time and money can be better spent on achieving actual air quality improvements and by helping the public and the business community understand how they can keep air quality from deteriorating. Industry is not the most significant contributor to ozone formation. The major contributors are mobile sources, including both gasoline and diesel-powered automobiles, trucks and construction equipment. While cleaner vehicles and fleet turnover will offset some of the impacts of growth, total vehicle miles traveled have been increasing at three to four times the rate of population growth. In other words, people and businesses are simply driving more. Making sure the dirtiest cars or trucks are either repaired or retired will continue to be a challenge, and creating incentives may be part of the solution. That means we will need to continue refining strategies like the Department of Ecology's Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program. We also will continue our voluntary programs that ask individuals and businesses to take short-term actions when stagnant weather conditions threaten air quality. Businesses are important partners in this program, both in communicating messages to employees and in providing viable alternatives, such as free bus passes or opportunities to work at home, during these vulnerable periods. Particulate matter presents substantial challenges as well. Our existing programs, which have been focused on the older standard for coarse particles (PM10), have significantly improved air quality. These include our winter fireplace and wood stove burn ban program and restrictions on outdoor burning in urban areas. We have met the PM10 standard for a number of years and expect to be redesignated as an attainment area early next year. However, meeting the new fine particle standards for PM2.5 is another story. We have done limited monitoring for PM2.5, so we won't know how we finally stand until more monitoring is done using the methods required by EPA. The new monitoring network will be expensive, so we and other air agencies are actively seeking federal funding for this new mandate. While we expect the new annual standard will be tough to meet, the steps we have already taken to reduce PM10 have given us a jump start on fine particle reductions as well, since wood burning and other combustion generate these smaller particles. But as with ozone, we don't want to wait and find out that we are not protecting public health and are out of attainment. Our goal for fine particles is to be in attainment by the time federal designations are made. This means we need to start looking at sources of fine particulate matter that haven't been adequately addressed by existing PM10 strategies, sources such as diesel-powered vehicles. There has been considerable speculation about the potential cost of control strategies associated with the new fine particle standard, but it's too early to know. We will involve affected stakeholders, health experts and the environmental community to determine what strategies are most cost-effective and make sense for our region. We expect to begin this process within the next few months. It's important to remember that growth is the biggest single challenge we face as we strive to meet the new ozone and particulate matter standards. More people and businesses driving many more miles each year threaten the gains we have made in air quality. While we will continue to aggressively control point sources of pollution and pursue technological solutions to air quality problems, much can be done to protect and improve air quality through individual behavior and lifestyle choices. Improving the quality of the air we breathe is one of the big success stories of the last three decades. By working together, we can keep it clean and continue to breathe easily. Dennis McLerran is the executive director of the Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency, covering King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties.