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U.S. EPA PROPOSES PLAN TO CUT PHOENIX AREA PARTICULATE POLLUTION

Release Date: 3/23/1998
Contact Information: Randy Wittorp, U.S. EPA, (415)744-1589

     San Francisco -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed a plan on Friday afternoon that addresses particulate air pollution in the Phoenix metropolitan area.  EPA has met a March 20, 1998 deadline to propose a Federal Implementation Plan for Phoenix because the State does not yet have an approved plan to control particulate air pollution.

     Basic pollution controls proposed by the federal plan include:  measures to control dust from vacant lots, unpaved roads and unpaved parking lots and a process to develop best management practices for dust control on agricultural sources.  The measures will help the region meet public health standards for particulate air pollution.

     "The State is making progress developing a plan to meet the public health standards," said Felicia Marcus, EPA's regional administrator, "but there are steps we can take now to protect the health of Phoenix residents.  These measures will ensure progress toward clean air now, until the State has a plan in place providing the necessary public health protection."

     Phoenix is a serious PM-10 nonattainment area.  The area recorded violations of the annual standard as well as 22 exceedances of the 24-hour standard in 1997.   Particulate matter affects the respiratory system and can cause damage to lung tissue and premature death. The elderly, children, and people with chronic lung disease, influenza, or asthma are especially sensitive to high levels of particulate matter.

     The primary cause of the particulate problem is dust on paved roads kicked up by vehicle traffic, as well as windblown dust from construction sites, unpaved parking lots and roads, disturbed vacant lots, and agricultural fields.

     The State has implemented a number of measures, including controls on construction and earth moving operations, a vehicle smog check program and a clean burning gasoline program.  Yet there remains a need for additional pollution reductions.  

     The State is currently developing a new particulate plan and intends to submit it to EPA in the summer of 1998.  The State convened a second Air Quality Strategies Task Force  to develop both short-term and long-term methods for reducing emissions of particulate, as well as other pollutants. If the State submits a plan that includes control measures for the sources covered by the Federal Implementation Plan, EPA will withdraw the Federal Implementation Plan and the state plan will take its place.

     EPA has until March 20, 1998, to propose a Federal Implementation Plan.  The Agency must finalize the plan by July 18, 1998.  Additional information on the plan will be available by the end of this week on EPA's website.  The website's address is www.epa.gov/region09 .