Treasure Valley could exceed new ozone limits

An extraordinary effort will be needed to prevent air pollution in the Treasure Valley from violating new air quality standards that were released by the Environmental Protection Agency last week.
Meeting the new attainment standard will depend on keeping emissions down this summer, Leonard Herr, the Boise airshed manager at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, said.
The EPA’s new standard for ozone – the primary component of smog – is 0.075 parts per million, lowered from the previous standard of 0.08 ppm.
Calculating the level of ozone for a region is complicated.
Ozone is measured every 8 hours, and then averaged over a three-year period. The fourth highest average has to be lower than the limit set by the EPA.
“For the last three year period, ending last year, our average was 0.078,” Herr said.
The Treasure Valley won’t have to report until the end of 2008, but keeping the valley’s air quality under the new limit will depend on how the summer goes.
“It’s going to take a lot of effort,” Herr said. “We can avoid this, but it’s going to be hard. It’s an unprecedented low number we’re shooting for.”  
The department is still brainstorming ideas, but Herr said they’ll definitely be focusing on vehicles.
“That’s a big component of ozone problems,” he said. “We’re not saying everyone has to ride a bike all summer long.”
Herr said the department will be hitting their standard messages: reduce trips, ride the bus, don’t fuel up in the evening or run the lawn mower during air quality alerts.
“This is the year we want people to listen,” he said.
If the Treasure Valley does hit non-attainment, the state will have to develop a plan with new controls to bring ozone levels back down.
“Development of that plan is very expensive,” Herr said. It has to be scientifically demonstrated that it works.”
The EPA released the new limits on March 12. The new ozone standards are the first revision in more than a decade.
According to a press release from the EPA, ozone levels have dropped 21 percent since 1980.