| Cache
Valley winter air not as bad as you might think
By Miriah Griffith
March 26, 2007 | CACHE COUNTY -- Cache Valley has
been tagged as the worst air in the nation, but is it
as bad as its reputation?
In 2006 the air quality in Cache valley was better
than surrounding counties, yet was still tagged in media
as the worst, said County Executive Lynn Lemon.
"We had the same weather conditions as Wasatch
County, but our air quality was better," Lemon
said. "A few bad days and we're tagged!"
Most of the press coverage on air quality in Cache
Valley refers to the number of "red days,"
which indicate an unhealthy amount of pollution. 2006
had a lot despite the improving air quality because
the standard for what constitutes a red day changed.
Utah Division of Air Quality Planning Engineer Bill
Reiss said the standard was almost cut in half, going
from 65mg per cubic cenimeter in 2005 to 35mg in 2006.
Changing the standard was a matter of protecting public
health, Reiss said. The old standard was way above what
the EPA calls a threat to public health.
"We want people to start monitoring and changing behaviors
before it becomes a health hazard, not after," he said.
"If the same standard for 2005 was used in 2006, Cache
County wouldn't have had a single red day all year,"
said Lemon.
Cache Valley's air quality depends heavily on the
weather. The cold air in the valley is trapped by the
warm air above it and the mountains around it, and therefore
the pollution can't escape.
"2006 was kind of an anomaly," said Reiss. "Cache
County didn't have the cold temperatures or snowfall
it usually does. That decreases the strength of the
inversions."
He added that while the air quality wasn't as bad
as previous years, it still wasn't good.
"To assess the data on air quality, we look at a three
year block," he said. "2006 was lower, but if we throw
it in with '04 and '05, it's still over standard."
The Division of Air Quality will access the data by
the end of this year to determine if Cache County is
in compliance with EPA standards and propose a plan
to the EPA, said Reiss. The Air Quality Board, composed
of local governments, doctors, scientist, and industrialists,
has final say on the plan. The process will take a minimum
of four years, Reiss said.
Reiss and Lemon agreed that reducing driving is the
key to reducing air pollution.
"The EPA has told us emissions testing won't solve
the problem during inversions," Lemon said. "And it
will hurt most the people who can afford it least- older
cars usually belong to lower income people."
"Logan is tough," said Reiss. "I'll tell you that
straight up. There isn't just one giant industry that
we can clean up and solve the problem. There's a bunch
of little fires in combustion engines."
Lemon said reducing driving on red days is the most
important thing citizens can do to help the air quality
in Cache Valley.
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