The Austin-area campaign to reduce ozone emissions succeeded this summer in meeting federal emissions standards, but those standards are about to get tougher.
The city’s “Big Push” effort to reign in emissions during the peak months of August and September was helpful in meeting the current standard, but the Environmental Protection Agency announced in September that they will review the standard and will likely propose a new, stricter one in December.
“We’re kind of back at square one now with the new ozone standard,” said Theresa Pella, section manager of Air Quality Planning at Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
In keeping ozone emissions below 75 parts per billion, the Austin metropolitan area avoided a designation of “non-attainment” status, which would have led to restrictions on business development and delays in plans for new transportation infrastructure. Because Austin had trouble meeting the current standard over the last three-year measurement period, some believe “non-attainment” status may become a reality over the next few years.
“We just barely made the current standard at 75, so based on our three-year average, with any standard lower than that, we will not be in attainment,” said Bill Gill, Air Quality Program coordinator at Capital Area Council of Governments.
Gill said this may create the need for another “Big Push” or similar public outreach campaign. This summer’s publicity measures conveyed the importance of reducing emissions to the public, local industry and large employers such as Dell and Advanced Micro Devices. These efforts, along with cooler weather, played an important role in reduced emissions, he said.
“We’ve tried to convey the message to local businesses and the public that what everybody did was successful in attaining the current standard; that’s the good news,” Gill said. “The bad news is that the EPA has decided that the standard is not strict enough.”
Without numerous manufacturing plants or refineries in Austin, Gill said the city’s biggest contributors of unhealthy ozone are cars, trucks and heavy utility equipment on and off the roads. One option for improvement is through programs like the Texas Emissions Reduction Plan that retrofit old equipment with newer, more efficient engines.
Another goal is reduction in the number of commuter vehicles on the road by reiterating the values of carpooling, telecommuting to work and bringing lunch from home to reduce the number of car trips residents make in a day.
Gill said a “non-attainment” designation would put restrictions on transportation planning, leading to a more time-consuming process in executing new transportation projects. New businesses that produce significant amounts of air pollution will be subject to stringent emissions reductions requirements, he said.
Deanna Altenhoff, executive director of CLEAN AIR Force of Central Texas, is optimistic that Austin residents and businesses will work together as they did this year to meet the EPA’s new emissions standards.
“They said it couldn’t be done, and we were able to do it,” Altenhoff said. “We’ll need even more people working toward that common goal next ozone season.”
