Perry, Ste. Genevieve counties keep worried eye on ozone levels

With outdoor temperatures gradually increasing, government officials and business leaders in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties are keeping an eye on air-quality measurements to see whether they comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

In November, the EPA discussed possibly lowering its maximum ozone standard from the current 75 ppb to between 65 and 70 ppb.

That number is in preliminary stages and hasn't been set officially, said deputy director of Southeast Missouri's Regional Planning Commission David Grimes.

"Should that number be set at 70 ppbs, our monitors might make it, but at 65 [ppb], I don't think they will," he said.

If the lower standards are implemented, Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties could become "nonattainment areas," meaning readings at two area monitors likely would exceed the amount of ground-level ozone that's allowable in the air.

Grimes said he believes the current number is at a healthy level, and he insists it should be left alone.

So far, levels of ground-level ozone monitored in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties have been just under the current allowable standard. The Department of Natural Resources will use a three-year average -- from 2013 to 2015 -- to make its designations. So ensuring 2015 comes in under the required level is essential.

Ground-level ozone, or smog, according to the Department of Natural Resources, is created when pollution from vehicles, industry and naturally occurring gases, such as from plant decay, combine with heat and sunlight. Its development is aided by high temperatures, making April 1 through Oct. 31 "ozone season," and the hottest days of the year often are the worst for ground-level ozone.

According to the latest reading taken May 26, the preliminary number was set at 64 ppb. In Perry County, these numbers are recorded in Farrar, Missouri, about 13 miles away from the county seat in Perryville.

If a nonattainment status is given to the counties, it may affect industrial growth by subjecting potential businesses to strict permitting regulations, Joletta Golik of Trinity Consultants reported to the SMRPC's environmental quality committee at the group's quarterly meeting.

The purchase of emission "offsets" between existing sources of pollution would be required when sources are new or modified, and industries would have to obtain the lowest achievable emission rate using the best available technology, which can be costly, according to Golik's report.

It isn't known whether this summer's temperatures will be record-breaking, but Grimes said his "crystal ball is pretty infallible" in predicting it will be hot.

For years, residents of Perry County have been aware of the situation, and the SMRPC has distributed guidelines to help keep levels low.

But Grimes said options are slim.

Grimes recalled in 2012, temperatures reached an all-time recorded high.

The same year of the DNR's report, Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties' monitors recorded 83 ppbs.

Even then, Grimes said it wasn't "bad air" that encompassed the counties.

There is no indication surrounding counties will be monitored, because there is no monitor in those counties.

But if Perry and Ste. Genevieve reach nonattainment status, the monitored areas could change.

Grimes said at the time of choosing monitoring locations, Ste. Genevieve and Perry County were the best options he could have hoped for, and he would do anything in his power to keep the situation the same.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

Pertinent addresses:

Perry County, Missouri

Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri