Ill. ozone monitor could put NWI back on nonattainment list

PORTAGE | A single violation of one part per billion over the federal standard for ozone at a monitor in Illinois near the Wisconsin border could push Lake and Porter counties back into noncompliance with the Clean Air Act.

The violation, recorded in Zion, Ill., also could push Jasper County in the nonattainment category for the first time.

Thomas Easterly, Indiana Department of Environmental Management commissioner, said Thursday that Northwest Indiana was set to be in attainment for all pollutants Feb. 6 "for the first time ever," before Gov. Mitch Daniels received the letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday.

"We're very upset about this," Easterly said while addressing the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission's Environmental Management Policy Committee.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker also received similar letters. Under EPA guidelines, ozone is measured regionally, so the single violation could place Northwest Indiana, portions of eight Illinois counties, including Cook and Will, and Kenosha County in Wisconsin in nonattainment as well.

Illinois leaders praised the move, saying it will keep $80 million in annual funds designated for clean air and traffic congestion mitigation coming to the state.

Quinn, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill., have supported the move.

"We must ensure that Illinois receives adequate resources to improve air quality and reduce congestion," Quinn said in a statement released by Durbin's office. "While we have made great progress in air quality, there is more work needed to reduce pollution and clean our air."

Emanuel agreed.

"As the nation's most road-congested region, we applaud the decision by EPA to use the most recent data to assess the region's air quality attainment status," he said in the statement issued by Durbin's office.

Lake and Porter counties never have met the requirements for ozone emissions, in large part because of the high concentration of industries and traffic congestion in the region. The issue forced the need for vehicle emissions tests and created tougher standards for building or expanding industries.

Easterly said he was criticized for keeping the Clean Air Car Check program in the counties that met the ozone standard but stands by his decision. That program requires most vehicles manufactured after 1965 to meet emission standards.

"Illinois made the cost-cutting decision to only test cars since the mid-90s," Easterly said. "If Illinois had kept their emissions program, they would have kept this standard. Don't penalize us for Illinois not doing what they were supposed to do."

Dennis McMurray, spokesman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, said testing earlier models proved inefficient.

"That decision was based on the fact that there are relatively few older vehicles anymore and it was not cost-effective or environmentally effective to test the older cars anymore," McMurray said.

The states have 120 days to address the issue. If the EPA does not reverse its decision, IDEM will have to show that monitors in Lake, Porter and Jasper counties met the ozone standards for three years before being taken off the nonattainment list.

Illinois and Wisconsin would have to meet the same requirements.

"We hope that the state and federal agencies will come to a solution that's meaningful for Northwest Indiana," said Nicole Barker, executive director of Save the Dunes.

Ozone is of particular concern on hot, still days and can cause breathing problems for children, the elderly and those with pre-existing respiratory problems.

Ogden Dunes resident Susan MiHalo, who serves as secretary for Save the Dunes and is a board member of the Alliance for the Great Lakes, agreed.

"We'd hope that the best science is being used to protect human health," MiHalo said.