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OZONE
Pennsylvania has made progress in reducing
contributions to ground-level ozone concentrations. For the
37 counties designated as nonattainment for the previous
(1997) 8-hour ozone NAAQS of 0.08 parts per million (ppm),
EPA re-designated 25 counties to attainment after DEP
demonstrated not only that the areas attain the standard but
would be able to maintain that standard through 2018.
Between 2007 and 2009, EPA redesignated the following
counties as attainment for the 1997 ozone standard: Adams,
Berks, Blair, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Clearfield,
Cumberland, Dauphin, Erie, Franklin, Greene, Indiana,
Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Mercer,
Monroe, Northampton, Perry, Tioga, Wyoming, and York. While
the seven county Pittsburgh area (Allegheny, Armstrong,
Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland
counties) has not been re-designated to attainment, air
quality monitoring data from 2007-2009 indicates that the
1997 ozone standard has been attained.
In 2008, EPA lowered the 8-hour ozone
standard to 0.075 (75 parts per billion). Most of the
counties that previously met the 1997 standard did not meet
this standard. Furthermore, the EPA agreed to reconsider the
8-hour ozone standard and in January 2010, proposed to lower
the health-based standard and set a new secondary standard
to protect the environment; the proposed standard ranged
from 70 to 60 parts per billion.
EPA
will issue final revised 8-hour ozone standards by July 29,
2011. The revised ozone NAAQS will pose significant
attainment and maintenance challenges requiring additional
reductions of NOx and VOC emissions across Pennsylvania. The
use of natural gas, particularly as an alternative
transportation fuel, contains significant advantages to
achieving and maintain federal ozone NAAQS.
FINE PARTICULATE MATTER (PM2.5)
EPA
has found that the following counties met the 1997 annual
(PM2.5) standard of 15ug/m3 for fine particulate matter
based on 2007-2009 data: Berks, Cambria, Cumberland,
Dauphin, Indiana, Lebanon, Lancaster, and York. State
Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions projecting attainment in
2010 have been submitted to EPA for the remaining areas: the
Pittsburgh-Beaver Valley area (Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver,
Butler, Fayette, Washington, Westmoreland and portions of
Indiana, Cambria, Lawrence and Greene counties) and
the Philadelphia area (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery
and Philadelphia counties). The Liberty/Clairton SIP
revision submitted to EPA will be revised to project
attainment by December 2013.
In 2006, EPA established a more
stringent 24-hour particulate standard and in December 2009
designated the following counties or portions thereof as
nonattainment. Allegheny (and the Liberty/Clairton area
separately), Armstrong, Beaver, Bucks, Butler, Cambria,
Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Fayette, Greene,
Indiana, Lebanon, Lancaster, Lawrence Lehigh, Montgomery,
Northampton, Philadelphia, Washington, Westmoreland, and
York. SIP revisions are due to EPA in December 2012.
In order to achieve and maintain
the PM 2.5 NAAQS across Pennsylvania, additional reductions
of fine particulates and precursors of PM 2.5 including NOx
and SO2 may be needed.
Source:
Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7-22-2011 |
