INDIANAPOLIS | Lake and Porter are among 19 Indiana counties that are not meeting tougher federal standards for soot, an air pollutant that can aggravate asthma and other lung ailments.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent letters Tuesday informing five Midwest governors that parts of their states are exceeding the proposed fine particle guidelines, which are nearly twice as tough as current standards. Indiana trails only Ohio, where 28 counties are not in compliance.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management has challenged the new EPA designations. In a December letter, IDEM Commissioner Thomas Easterly argued that only Marion County -- home to Indianapolis -- and Clark County, near Louisville, were violating the new soot standards. He urged the EPA to delay implementation of the rules for another year, arguing that a new round of air tests would show most of Indiana in compliance.
"IDEM will continue working with U.S. EPA to consider all relevant information, including 2008 monitored data, prior to U.S. EPA making their final designations," IDEM spokesman Rob Elstro said. Tuesday. "Monitoring data shows that Indiana's air quality continues to improve."
Indiana contends that some counties, including Porter, are in compliance with the new standards. But EPA officials say that while Porter County air samples meet the more stringent soot limits, the county is contributing to unacceptable pollution levels in Lake County and the Chicago area.
Unless Indiana can sway the EPA before county designations are finalized in December, the state will have three years to craft a remediation plan for the 19 counties. That means businesses seeking environmental permits to locate or expand in those counties could be required to install additional air pollution controls or purchase offsetting credits.
The new standards are designed to protect the public from tiny particles that measure 1/30th the diameter of a human hair. The soot particles are associated with a number of health problems, including aggravation of lung disease, asthma attacks and heart problems.
"It can be deadly, especially for people with lung disease," said John Summerhays, environmental scientist for the Chicago office of the EPA.
The current federal standard does not allow more than 65 cubic micrograms of soot to be present per cubic meter of air within a one-day testing window. The EPA is lowering the 24-hour standard to 35 cubic micrograms per cubic meter.
State tests show that Lake and Porter counties fell within the stricter standards in 2004 and 2006 but exceeded them in 2005.
Nationwide, the EPA has identified 215 counties in 25 states that do not meet the new soot guidelines, including 14 Illinois counties. Minnesota is the only Midwest state in full compliance with the new standards.
