Last Saturday, over 4000 citizen demonstrators gathered with some Utah Democratic party legislators and the Mayor of Salt Lake City in front of the Utah state capitol building to do something that has never before been done with this magnitude of citizen action.
I've been tracking citizen clean air activity across the country for nearly 40 years. Last Saturday's demonstration is the first time in the United States that a such a large mass citizen protest clean air/anti-air-pollution demonstration was ever held at a state capitol building. The target of the protest was the feckless, ineffective and incompetent Utah state air pollution control program under republican Governor Gary Herbert.
Here is physician, anesthesiologist and clean air leader Brian Moench, MD, President of the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, with some of the overall theme of the "Clean Air No Excuses" rally:
Here is the principle Salt Lake City Tribune article covering the event.
When it comes to air quality, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker has a message for Utah’s leaders: Be more like the Obama administration.
Utah suffers from some of the most serious PM-2.5 community air pollution problems in the United States in the large valley region just west of the Wasatch front throughout areas of Salt Lake City and widespread areas north and south of SLC. PM-2.5 is respirable fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns which is associated with multiple respiratory health and cardiac problems, including mortality from air pollution- caused or exacerbated problems.
Despite these serious problems, Utah's state government has been playing a passive-aggressive game with EPA Region 8 in addressing the state's responsibilities under the Clean Air Act. Utah was late with its PM-2.5 clean up plan, but when Utah finally submitted its plan to EPA under the Clean Air Act, that plan was not approvable under EPA's rules because Utah's demonstration did not comply with EPA's requirements for PM-2.5 state implementation plans under the Act.
After first submitting a non-approvable PM 2.5 plan, Utah then proposed another non-approvable plan late last year and this most recent plan is also running into adverse EPA comment and comments from citizen advocates.
Utah's procedures and program for permitting and regulating air pollution sources have numerous defects and problems that allow continued high emissions and conduct by both the state and emission sources that violate EPA Clean Air Act rules.
Utah residents share their 'my bad air day' stories, included pics and social media on the problem and the demonstration.....lots of pics in the slideshow with the article.
Another good photo with this SLC Tribune article on health effects of the current problems.
My diary from October 26, 2013 has more detailed links and access to detailed information on the Utah PM-2.5 State Implementation Plan documents.
I'll close with my favorite photo of Wasatch Valley air pollution from 2007:
1:06 PM PT: Video on Today's Salt Lake City Tribune article "MY BAD AIR DAY"
1:16 PM PT: Utah residents favor tougher emission limitation of industry by a 2 to 1 margin....
http://www.sltrib.com/...
However, the Gary Herbert administration keeps avoiding the prompt imposition of Reasonably Available Control Measures (RACM) that is required under the Clean Air Act. Utah Department of Environmental Quality has also adopted rules allowing new sources of industrial emissions to evade requirements for the strictest level of emission control required by the Clean Air Act for 'nonattainment areas' -- Lowest Achieveable Emission Rate (LAER), making Utah's air quality rules conflict with the Clean Air Act.
1:28 PM PT: Under the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, major industrial air pollution sources were to apply for a CAA Title V Operating Permit by 1996 and states were supposed to evaluate and approve these operating permits. However, Utah still has major sources that have never been issued a Title V Operating Permit.
Gross failures of the Utah Air Pollution program and EPA Region 8's longstanding failure to get anything done about this rogue state air pollution program's failure to ensure all big sources have Title V permits should be investigated by the EPA Inspector General as a failure of the mission of the EPA to achieve national uniformity in the application of federal air pollution control programs.
2:02 PM PT: The "Clean Air No Excuses" chant video has the best pictures and images of the 4000 strong crowd that attended the event in front of the Utah state capitol building last Saturday.
2:17 PM PT: More Utah citizen commentary on "My Bad Air Day" from the Salt Lake City Tribune (which has been doing a good job of coverage of Utah air pollution stories):
http://www.sltrib.com/...
3:21 PM PT: How is your community doing with PM-2.5 air pollution?
Do you live in an area considered as being in 'nonattainment' with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) primary health-related standards for PM-2.5? Currrently, there is an EPA NAAQS standard of 35 micrograms/cubic meter for the 24 hour average standard and 12 micrograms per cubic meter for the annual average.
Go exploring the nation's ambient air quality monitoring data for past year's (start with 2012, 2013 data not completely in) at EPA's AirData site:
http://www.epa.gov/...
3:29 PM PT: How are your local industrial and emission sources complying with environmental requirements?
If you enforce environmental law, spend time on EPA's Enforcement Compliance History Online site:
http://echo.epa.gov/...
Here is a sample report for the BP Refinery in Whiting, IN:
http://echo.epa.gov/...
Don't forget to hit all those little toggles that open up different parts of the report. For those persuing environmental justice cases, the demographic reports are useful. You can also see all of the dates and the compliance status of site inspections by EPA or states.
3:37 PM PT: What is happening with present real-time air pollution in your community? To find that out, start at EPA's AirNow site at:
http://www.airnow.gov
This site integrates all state and EPA real-time air monitoring system data to tell you about real-time air monitoring. For example, here is the current air quality index map for New England, New York and Pennsylvania:
http://www.airnow.gov/...
4:18 PM PT: Air and water pollution control..... Learn about the Democrat that made it all happen and contemplate your duties as a Democrat to protect the heritage of the Clean Air Act and environmental law. Learn from a master lawyer who assisted this Democrat in carrying out these feats:
http://www.muskiefoundation.org/...
5:28 PM PT: My first ever diary to be listed to 'Community Spotlight'....thank you for that honor.
6:30 PM PT: Go on a science adventure addressing the human health effects of air pollution at research scientist's level at the Health Effects Institute:
http://www.healtheffects.org/...
Here is more digestible information on similar topics from
the American Lung Association which, by the way, is the most important national organization for the defense of the Clean Air Act's statutory requirements for public health protection with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (Senator Muskie's gift to us all):
http://www.stateoftheair.org/...
Here's more on the Lung Association's Clean Air Act work:
http://www.lung.org/...
Note: Giving to Christmas Seals supports defense of the Clean Air Act and the resulting protection of public health.
