Missouri Department of Natural Resources proposes stricter ozone controls for area counties

Cape Girardeau, the biggest city between St. Louis and Memphis, Tenn., could find itself facing big-city environmental rules if local leaders can't convince the Missouri Department of Natural Resources it is wrong about the source of area air pollution.

The resource agency's Air Pollution Control Program has proposed that Cape Girardeau and Perry counties be designated an ozone nonattainment area because of readings above acceptable levels at a monitoring station near Farrar, Mo., on Route C in Perry County.

The DNR has also recommended that St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve counties be added to an expanded St. Louis nonattainment area because of higher-than-allowed ozone readings at a monitoring station near Bonne Terre, Mo.

In St. Louis, nonattainment means vehicle emission testing, reformulated gasoline, vapor controls on fuel pumps and controls on new industrial development. Exactly what a nonattainment designation would mean for Perry and Cape Girardeau counties is unclear and won't be known for years, perhaps until the process of writing and winning approval for implementation plans is complete in 2015, said Jeff Bennett, the air quality modeling unit chief in DNR's Air Pollution Control Program. Led by the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission, governments and businesses in Cape Girardeau County are passing resolutions and writing letters protesting the designation. They fear major new employers won't consider the county when looking for sites to build new production plants.

"We see this as a major issue for us," said Mitch Robinson, executive director of Cape Girardeau Area Magnet and a member of the planning commission board.

On 36 days during the 2005-2007 period, the readings for ozone pollution were above the eight-hour standard of 75 parts per billion, according to figures from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. The monitor has not recorded an eight-hour period above the standard so far in 2008, an improvement aided by a cooler and wetter-than-normal summer.

According to studies of air patterns, pollution from Cape Girardeau County was a major contributor to the high readings.

"When an area does not meet the standard, that means that county is a designated nonattainment area," Bennett said. "The second question is, do other areas around that area contribute to that monitor not meeting the standard? What Cape Girardeau County contributes to the Perry County monitor contributes to the violation."

That is not what a consultant hired by the planning commission found, said David Grimes, the planning commission staff member who helped put together the response. "What our wizard said is that the evidence as they analyze the ozone precursors, read at the Farrar monitor, are transmitted in from much farther away than Cape Girardeau."

The best hope for altering DNR's proposed designations will come at a Dec. 4 public hearing in Jefferson City. The Missouri Air Conservation Commission will listen to concerns and hear suggestions about what portions, if any, of Southeast Missouri should be designated as nonattainment areas. The commission will also be hearing from people in other areas of the state about expanded or new designations.

The regional planning commission has acknowledged that Perry County and Ste. Genevieve County, where the air monitors are located, will be given the nonattainment designation. But each should be named as single-county nonattainment locations, the commission said in response to the DNR recommendations.

The regional planning commission has won support from the Cape Girardeau City Council, the Jackson Board of Aldermen, the Cape Girardeau County Commission, Perryville and several smaller towns, including Old Appleton and Altenburg, Grimes said.

"My position is we are better served by avoiding the whole issue altogether," he said.

Ozone is caused by the interaction of volatile organic chemicals, nitrogen oxides and sunlight. In high concentrations, it creates the haze on a summer day that is usually called smog. Nitrogen oxides are a major component of car emissions and emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. Volatile organic compounds include such items as gasoline, paint thinner and adhesives.

Buzzi Unicem USA, Procter & Gamble and Southeast Missouri State University are the biggest emitters of nitrogen oxides in the two counties, according to figures provided by DNR. Procter & Gamble, TG Missouri in Perryville, Falcon Foam in Perryville and Nordenia USA are the largest single sources of volatile organic compounds.

The monitor at Farrar was installed to determine the effect of Procter & Gamble's most recent expansion, Bennett said. The air pollution permit filed by Procter & Gamble indicated a possibility the expansion could result in more than 100 tons annually of pollution releases.

The first step for controlling pollution would be increased scrutiny of any new industrial facilities that expect to emit more than 100 tons of nitrogen oxides or volatile organics, Bennett said. That could begin in late 2010.

The next likely step would come around 2013 and be aimed at the large emitters, imposing reductions that can be obtained through the use of "reasonably available control technology." In those cases, the cost of reducing emissions would be weighed against the cost of new controls. "We are not going to shut people down," Bennett said. "We are not going to put controls on that don't make sense economically. We are in the business of doing things that make sense."

Vapor controls on fuel pumps and emissions tests would likely be low on the list for this area, he said.

EPA rules favor the inclusion of Cape Girardeau County with Perry County in a nonattainment area. But Robinson hopes that if enough pressure is exerted on state and federal politicians, the designation, which he calls a "black mark" that will scare away employers, can be avoided.

"They need to look at the big picture," Robinson said. "I live here. I breathe the air. We all want a clean environment. But where is the line being drawn from good regulations to negative regulations that create a more negative impact on the area. How much cleaner does the air need to be and at what costs?"

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

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