Area panel to hear about effect of possible ozone rules

A regional environmental quality committee plans to learn more this week about possible implications if new ground-level ozone standards take effect.

The committee will meet at 11 a.m. Friday at the American Legion Hall in Perryville, Missouri. The meeting is open to the public.

Trinity Consultants, a private firm that focuses on industrial air quality issues, will present during the meeting, said Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission deputy director David Grimes, what happens if an area is assigned "nonattainment status" for not meeting air-quality standards set by the government.

The committee was established by the planning commission in 2009 and consists of local government and business officials.

The Environmental Protection Agency in November released proposed new standards for ground-level ozone in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties, where the Missouri Department of Natural Resources keeps ozone monitors and records levels daily. The EPA proposed the levels be reduced to 65 to 70 parts per billion from the current 75 ppb, which the committee and commission worry is impossible because of what little can be done to reduce ground-level ozone in the area.

Ground-level ozone, or smog, according to the Department of Natural Resources, is a gas created through a combination of pollution from vehicles and industry with sunlight. Its development is aided by high temperatures, making April 1 through Oct. 31 "ozone season."

Detrimental effects to human health can include lung damage and aggravation of respiratory disease, among other problems. Ground-level ozone can harm animals, crops, trees and other vegetation, according the EPA.

Grimes said averages of the levels of ground-level ozone measured during the past several years at monitors in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties are just under the current allowable standard, so a nonattainment status is possible if the proposed new standard goes into effect.

Nonattainment status, he said, will change the way businesses have to comply with air-quality permitting by replacing a requirement for "best available control technology" in use to curb air pollution with more stringent and costly requirements.

"If you are in a nonattainment area, then the default standard becomes the lowest achievable emission rate, and that is the money-is-no-object rate," Grimes said.

The lowest achievable emission rate, he said, could involve a costly process for businesses that won't make much difference in pollution control, forcing the businesses to nix an air-quality-affecting project.

In January, the commission approved sending a letter to the EPA indicating its position as a submission in an open public comment period. In the letter, the commission expressed concerns about the proposed changes. The standards could be officially revised as soon as 2017, according to current timelines.

The letter also questioned whether the EPA's estimates on the effect on human health are reasonable and whether other rules that affect air quality should be given more time.

The comment period ended March 17, and Grimes said the committee and commission are looking forward to hearing the comments submitted to the EPA, though they won't hear them at Friday's meeting because an EPA representative cannot attend and the comments are not yet published.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

1 West St. Joseph St., Perryville, Mo.

98 Grand Ave., Perryville, Mo.