CLEVELAND, Ohio – Ozone levels in Greater Cleveland have exceeded federal standards for years, but a recent finding by the US Environmental Protection Agency could bring the region into compliance.
The agency recommended reclassifying the area as “attainment” for ozone, a move that could have far-reaching effects on the five-county region, both for polluters and for people breathing.
The decision was made earlier this year after the Ohio EPA determined that air quality measurements in Greater Cleveland were being unnecessarily skewed by smoke from Canadian wildfires. The US EPA agreed with the decision.
Smoke from wildfires burning in eastern Canada blew into northern Ohio during the spring and summer of 2023, resulting in numerous wind warnings.
By removing wildfire smoke from the equation, the Cleveland area — which includes Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain and Medina counties — would fall within acceptable ozone levels, according to an article in the Federal Register.
The public comment period runs until March 30, and if the US EPA makes a final decision, it could mean fewer government reporting requirements and more savings for local businesses that emit ozone-depleting chemicals.
The proposed new development means the plants would have to emit at least 250 million tons of air pollution a year to be considered a major source, compared to Greater Cleveland’s current limit of 50 tons a year, according to the Ohio EPA.
That would free up companies to “use measures to reduce emissions, such as installing anti-pollution equipment or using cleaner fuels,” according to the government agency.
There will also be fewer bureaucratic hoops to jump through when planning a new operation.
The federal Clean Air Act requires the US EPA to monitor seven types of airborne pollutants – carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, fine and coarse particulate matter and ozone. Only for ozone is Greater Cleveland currently above federal standards.
Ozone is unique among so-called organic pollutants in that it is not emitted directly from smoke or pipes but is formed in the atmosphere when nitrogen oxides mix with organic compounds and sunlight.
Ground-level ozone, not to be confused with the beneficial ozone high in the atmosphere, can be hard on the lungs, especially for asthmatics.
Cleveland has suffered from high levels of ozone for many years, and the achievement groups are based on a three-year total provided by the monitoring agencies to the US EPA.
In 2018, the Cleveland area was judged to be “unattainable” based on the standards set in 2015, but was upgraded to “moderate” in 2022 and later to “strong” due to a lack of development. Late last year, the Ohio EPA appealed.
It said ozone readings in Cleveland on June 1, 2 and 29, 2023, and in Eastlake and Painesville on June 1 and 2 were “influenced by wildfires,” according to the Federal Register. The US EPA agreed and lowered the area’s three-year average from 71 parts per billion to 70, putting it within the standard.
The rescheduling is not a done deal, said Bryan Sokolowski, director of testing for the Cleveland Division of Air Quality, and could be in jeopardy if subsequent numbers rise too high before the US EPA makes a final decision.
He said: “There are a lot of companies right now that are just waiting to see what happens.
The potential change in ozone levels comes as Mayor Justin Bibb has made air quality testing a clear focus by expanding how Cleveland tracks pollution. The city has spent several years building those efforts, focusing on low-level ozone and the issue of asthma and other health risks.
Cleveland installed a mobile device, EPA-grade and many inexpensive sensors to take more detailed, neighborhood-level data, especially in areas with high asthma, while feeding statistics to federal systems.
Bibb also sought to overhaul Cleveland’s decades-old Air Code, focusing on monitoring pollution, identifying hot spots and addressing health disparities.
Wendy Lavey, managing director of McMahon Degulis, an environmental law firm in Cleveland that represents business and government, said that even if the area could be brought in for ozone, large companies have already accepted high ozone control because of the long-term lack of availability in the area.
It will be the small and medium-sized companies that will benefit the most because they will not have to implement additional regulations, he said, although some will still have to do so to satisfy the Ohio EPA’s requirements.
Lavey said most ozone-producing emissions come from mobile sources, such as diesel trucks and gas-powered snow plows, which are not regulated by ozone achievement standards.
Whether the name change represents a healthier Cleveland remains to be seen, Sokolowski said.
There isn’t enough data to show why ozone levels appear to be improving, he said. It may be the result of a weak summer, or it may be a real reduction in nitrogen oxides and organic compounds in the unstable environment.
Regardless, he cautions against such careless territory. Conditions may seem better now, but if the site doesn’t resolve its problems, it could return to unreachable status.
He recommends keeping the government’s e-check program, which sets emissions standards for certain vehicles.
Another important project, he said, is Cleveland’s rebate program that offers $100 to those who replace their gas-powered lawn mowers.
Miranda Leppla, director of the Environmental Law Clinic at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, believes there is still more to be done.
While wildfires may be a rare occurrence, “they soon won’t be as rare as they are becoming more frequent due to climate change,” he said in an email to cleveland.com. “At some point, we have to say enough is enough and manage what we can by no longer treating them as exceptional and keeping the city in the non-attainment category with strict air quality controls to protect Clevelanders.”
#Looser #rules #Cleveland #polluters #EPA #probes #ozone #levels #wildfires