Photo by The Maricopa County Air Quality Department

Cleaning Up Our Act

There are now encouraging signs from elected officials, who have historically allowed pressure from industry groups to hamstring air quality reform. In June 2007, the Arizona Legislature passed Senate Bill 1552, which, among other measures, includes requirements for dust training and dust coordinators on large construction sites; expands the use of cleaner-burning gasoline during the summer months; places limits on where off-road vehicles can drive; and requires cities and towns to pave or stabilize unpaved roads and shoulders. According to ADEQ spokesman Mark Shaffer, the municipal ordinances required by SB 1552 will be adopted by March 2008.

The bill is one component of Arizona’s effort to reduce PM10 pollution by 5 percent per year, as required by the EPA. According to Shaffer, Arizona’s “Five Percent Plan” – the latest SIP – was developed by the Maricopa Association of Governments with input from local municipalities, ADEQ, the EPA, the state Division of Weights and Measures, Department of Agriculture, the Arizona Farm Bureau, local homebuilders and others.

Additionally, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors developed its own plan for the area that includes Apache Junction (two major provisions are paving four miles of public dirt roads and a no-burn ordinance that bans outdoor fires on high PM10 pollution advisory days). ADEQ adopted both plans and submitted them to the EPA.

ADEQ and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors are also trying to raise public awareness about air pollution. Shaffer says that ADEQ has introduced a text-messaging option for high pollution advisories. In February, the Board of Supervisors launched “Running Out of Air,” a county-wide campaign to encourage citizens to do their part to curb dust pollution.

These initiatives do not have purely idealistic motives. Bahr notes that, in part, SB 1552 was “driven by the fact that people were concerned about losing those federal highway dollars.”

In fact, although the federal highway funding at risk is substantial, we’re not in imminent danger of losing it. According to Herr-Cardillo, the state will not really see sanctions as long as it keeps making efforts to improve its air – even if those efforts are largely unsuccessful.

“The sanctions only kick in if the state stops trying,” Herr-Cardillo says. “The way they get into trouble with the Clean Air Act is when they thumb their nose at it… and that’s actually the kind of thing they used to do.”

There is more we could be doing to clean up our air. For years, the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest has tried to require clean-burning CARB diesel in the state (“CARB” refers to the California Air Resources Board).

“Particularly for the smallest of the particulate matter, it would go a long way,” Herr-Cardillo says. However, the most recent plan submitted to the EPA has no provision for it, and the EPA has stated that it will approve a plan without CARB diesel.

The Sierra Club would like to see stronger agricultural controls, more attention paid to sand and gravel permitting, and additional funding for mass transit. It would also like to see an “indirect source” review program for new development.

Bahr points out that new development contributes to air pollution not just during its construction, but over its lifespan, by increasing the number of vehicles and vehicle miles travelled. An indirect source review program would reward developers for things like mixed land use, pedestrian-friendly development and energy-efficient construction that reduces pollution over the life of the project.

“One could argue that part of the reason for failing to meet the mark in 2006 was failing to enforce [air quality measures]… but also just doing the bare minimum,” Bahr says.

As members of the single-occupancy-vehicle, gas-guzzling general public, we’re the ones who contribute most to our brown cloud. But that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t change our ways, given the opportunity.

“I actually think people are more willing to make changes now, but they want people to tell them why and how it’s going to help,” Bahr says. “Really, it does matter what each of us does.”

And Herr-Cardillo believes there’s substantial public support for tough air quality legislation and enforcement.

“I would say that the public is very supportive of stringent measures,” she says. “I think people get really, really frustrated that we’re still living with it [air pollution]…. But I do think we continue to see progress.”

Meanwhile, we catch our deep breaths when and where we can. South of Phoenix, one or two thousand feet above the ground, the air is actually clear enough to make out some hazy stars at night – a sight that has been missing from the city for years.

“The advantage of flying south of the city is being able to escape,” Welch says. “The worst part of seeing the brown cloud is knowing you eventually have to go back into it.”