Ozone proposals include tailpipe tests

Ozone proposals include tailpipe tests
Counties list options
that may defer stiffer
air-pollution standard
BY SCOTT BARKER
barkers@knews.com

Seven East Tennessee counties
have proposed mandatory car-in-
spection programs as part of an
agreement to reduce smog in com-
pliance with stricter federal ozone
standards.

Other initiatives would require
vapor-recovery systems at gas sta-
tions, encourage the use of low-
emission vehicles and establish gov-
ernment contract preferences for
bidders using low-emission equip-
ment.

Adopted in 1997 but delayed by
industry-led court challenges, the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's new ozone standard takes
effect April 15, 2004. Areas that reg-
ister an average of 80 parts per bil-
lion or higher during an eight-hour
period won't be in compliance. The
current standard is 120 parts per bil-
lion during a one-hour period.

Ozone is an odorless, colorless gas
that occurs naturally in the upper at-
mosphere, where it protects the Earth
from harmful ultraviolet rays.

At ground level, however, ozone
can be hazardous to breathe, espe-
cially for asthmatics, the elderly and
children. Commonly known as
smog, ground-level ozone occurs
when certain chemicals in vehicle
exhaust and smokestack emissions
are exposed to sunlight.

The EPA based the new standard on tests showing that ozone causes adverse health effects at lower concentrations and over longer periods of time than previously believed.

Areas like Knoxville that aren't likely to meet the standard can qualify for waivers that would defer any consequences for three years as long as pollution controls are in place.

A local clean-air advocacy group is skeptical about the process, saying that delayed implementation could undermine the new standard.

According to the EPA, the Knoxville area is in compliance with all federal air-quality standards now, though that would likely change when the new limit takes effect. Between 2000 and 2002, eight of the area's nine monitoring sites registered eight-hour ozone readings above the new standard.

Leaders from Knox, Anderson, Loudon, Blount, Sevier, Union and Jefferson counties submitted a smorgasbord of smog-reduction measures to state officials this week. If approved by state and federal regulators, the measures selected for implementation would need to be in place by early 2005. Air quality would have to meet the new standard by the end of 2007.

Mike Arms, chief of staff to Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale, said the Regional Clean Air Summit in April helped elected officials focus on reducing pollution.

"We listed a menu of items we thought could improve air quality," Arms said. "We tried to make it a good mix" of volunteer and mandatory programs.

Under the proposed vehicle-inspection program, passenger vehicles would have to pass a tailpipe emission check before owners could obtain their license tags.

Lynne Liddington, Knox County's air-quality management director, said inspection programs would have to be implemented throughout the region to be effective. Other measures would have to be employed statewide, she said.

Many of the proposed regulations address diesel-engine emissions. For instance, one proposal would force truck stops to provide electricity to trucks on their lots, to reduce emissions by enabling truckers to turn off their engines overnight. The Petro truck stop on Watt Road has plans to install 225 such power stations. If electrification were mandated, other truck stops would have to follow suit.

Ground-level ozone, or smog, is created when nitrogen oxide reacts with volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight.

"I think unless we give it a 100 percent effort, we're not going to make it. It's a matter of setting priorities and going out and doing it."

Mike Arms,
chief of staff to Knox County Mayor
Mike Ragsdale

Liddington said the counties would be able to choose from the list based on local budgets and needs. For example, some counties might demand that school bus operators retrofit their buses to lower emissions while others might convert government fleets to low-emission vehicles, improve traffic flow or restrict open burning.

Liddington said the counties wouldn't know how many of the measures they will have to try — or whether they are likely to work — until the state finishes computer modeling based on pollution data and the anticipated effects of the proposals.

The American Lung Association ranked Knoxville the 9th most polluted metropolitan area in the country this year in a report based on EPA air-quality data.

A University of Tennessee study shows cars, trucks, construction equipment, lawn mowers and other vehicles account for two-thirds of all ozone-causing pollutants affecting East Tennessee. The Tennessee Valley Authority's share is expected to drop from 26 percent in 1999 to 11 percent in 2007 as a result of a $2.6 billion installation of pollution controls at several of its coal-fired power plants.

The cost of compliance isn't known yet, but officials say the price of procrastination is steep.

Noncompliance with the eight-hour standard could trigger consequences such as stricter controls on industry and the withholding of federal highway funds. Officials warn the stigma of being labeled a polluted area could harm tourism and hamper business recruiting.

"Basically, it's the equivalent of a scarlet letter for economic development," Arms said.

Mike Edwards, president and chief executive officer of the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership and the Development Corporation of Knox County, agreed.

"We will lose prospects. We won't even get the knock on the door," Edwards said.

The EPA's deferral policy has drawn fire from environmental groups, who say communities would be able to make only token efforts to reduce pollution while giving lip service to the goal of clearing the air.

Stephen Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said he's willing to give the process a chance, though he's skeptical that politicians have the will to follow through without the fear of regulatory repercussions.

"Our biggest fear is that the early action compacts give wiggle room for politicians to avoid making the difficult decisions that need to be made," Smith said.

Smith said the focus should be on efforts that can be measured. Compliance with voluntary initiatives like ride-sharing programs is difficult to predict and shouldn't be given too much weight by regulators evaluating the proposals, he said.

"We're not looking for regulations," he explained. "We're looking for certainty."

Smith said the compacts work outside the framework of the Clean Air Act and could be challenged in court. Still, he added, the compacts have forced political leaders to address the region's pollution problems.

Arms said education is the key to making the voluntary programs work. He pointed to recycling and seat-belt use as two activities that became common during the past two decades because of heightened awareness.

Governments, businesses and individuals across the region will have to pull together to improve air quality, Arms said.

"I think unless we give it a 100 percent effort, we're not going to make it," Arms said. "It's a matter of setting priorities and going out and doing it."

Scott Barker may be reached at 865-342-6309.