Counties should try again for air quality

Counties should try again for air quality

Bad air has been bad news lately in the Knoxville area, and one message that has shot its way through the haze has been this: Air pollution is not merely a problem for the city of Knoxville, the Knox County Commission, the Legislature and the Tennessee Valley Authority; it is a concern for all of us.

In fact, the interconnectedness of several facets of the problem should not be lost on those making decisions about air quality and those who go about their day-to-day business wondering why their eyes burn and their throat is sore. It is not someone else's issue.

Earlier this month, Knox and several surrounding counties received word from the federal Environmental Protection Agency that they were not in compliance with newer, stronger clean-air regulations. This action came less than a month after the Knox County Commission adopted a clean-air proposal in conjunction with other counties that it hoped would stave off restrictive measures from the EPA.

The noncompliance verdict should not have been a total surprise. For the last several years, Knoxville's air has been ranked among the nation's worst. One survey rated the area as one of the 10 smoggiest in the nation.

The surprise might be in how close the seven-county area came to being in compliance. The county had a rating of "basic," the least severe of EPA's noncompliance findings.

Because the rating was not as serious as it might have been, the EPA will not require the counties to conduct vehicle inspections for pollution control. If that is good news, consider the fact that the counties' plan to combat air pollution called for statewide vehicle inspections, vapor controls at gas stations, anti-idling legislation and reduction of interstate speed limits to 55 mph for commercial trucks.

It is highly doubtful the current session of the Legislature — moving with all deliberate speed toward adjournment — will tackle these issues. However, they likely will be on the agenda next year, since other parts of the state, including Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga and Clarksville, also were affected by the EPA ruling.

The counties' plan had other good components as well: prohibiting open burning on certain days, replacing some of the county fleet with hybrid vehicles and using traffic synchronization—no easy feat—to reduce emissions.

On the other hand, noncompliance will bring greater restrictions on air-pollution control permits, an action that could affect recruitment of new industry, said Lynne Liddington, executive director of the county's Air Quality Management Office. New permits cannot be issued if they allow an increase in air pollution.

Recruitment of new industry is perhaps a major reason the county is not planning to wait to begin revising its air-quality plan. Both the Knox County and Knoxville mayors have touted economic development as major themes, and clean air is now a central part of that effort.

New industry and its resulting employment also affect the tax base for the area, which affects public services and spending on public education.

There also is the reputation a community earns, whether it's for smoggy air or a bad climate, and both the city of Knoxville and the counties involved in the effort need to wipe out that disincentive as quickly as they can.

The plan involves everyone because of two key words: conservation and education. Conservation was a hot topic in the mid-to-late 1970s when gasoline prices were high and shortages were widely reported. High gas prices have returned, and the current $1.70 per gallon price of regular unleaded might provide enough motivation to limit trips to the store, to carpool or consider public transportation.

The need for education was driven home at a forum at Maryville College last week by two people who have squared off before (Perspective, March 17) on energy issues. "Get good, accurate information," said TVA director Bill Baxter. "Become engaged. Become informed and vote," said Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

The Clean Air Act of 1970 helped make the nation's air significantly cleaner than it might have been without it. But there are always new challenges — more vehicles on more highways, more and bigger industries and an abiding belief that the raw materials we use to heat and cool our homes and fuel the engines of the nation's economy will never run out.

Knox and other counties in the area need to respond to the gauntlet tossed their way by EPA. They need to aggressively pursue those measures that will bring them into compliance with the agency's regulations.

With local and state government efforts and with an enlightened public urging them on, we can ooce agam brag about the quality of life in this area without coughing through our words.