The Oklahoma City area might be able to escape federal penalties even though 2011 has been a poor year for local air quality. But even a full-court press to clean up the area's air might not be enough to avoid penalties in the future.
NewsOK
BY MICHAEL KIMBALL mkimball@opubco.com
Published: October 19, 2011
Central Oklahoma might get lucky and not have poor air quality this year count against it in the eyes of the federal Environmental Protection Agency. But something has to be done sooner or later, and even a concentrated effort using a variety of solutions might not be enough to escape federal penalties, officials said.
The Oklahoma City Council on Tuesday received a report from the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments on air quality in the area. ACOG is leading the charge in this part of the state to clean up air quality with a program called “Get Your Own Square of Clean Air.”
This year was a particularly bad one for air quality in the region because of the way hot weather affects the accumulation of ozone in the low atmosphere, ACOG's Doug Rex told the council. The record-shattering drought and heat wave, along with calm winds, created ideal conditions for ozone to form when chemical reactions occur between gases emitted by vehicles, power plants and other natural and man-made sources.
The EPA and President Barack Obama's administration have flip-flopped in recent months on whether to implement tougher air quality standards, which Rex said would almost surely be too tough for the Oklahoma City area to meet. But even the present standards would mean Oklahoma City was afoul of the rules in 2011.
The federal government can withhold critical transportation funding for cities that don't meet clean air standards or have a concrete plan to meet them soon. Oklahoma City currently is considered a clean air city... FULL ARTICLE
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Wed, October 19, 2011
by John Cox