Air Quality in the Eastern Sierra

Transcription

1 Air Quality in the Eastern Sierra A presentation to The High Sierra Energy Foundation (HSEF) Public Working Group Session October 4, 2006 by Ted Schade, Air Pollution Control Officer Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District

2 Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District The Great Basin APCD is a local special district with the responsibility for adopting local stationary source air quality regulations in Alpine, Mono and Inyo Counties. Great Basin enforces local air quality regulations as well as many State air regulations.

3 The Great Basin APCD covers an area of over 9 million acres (14,000 mi 2 ), but serves only about 32,000 people.

4 Air Pollution Issues in the Eastern Sierra Mammoth Lakes Owens Lake Mono Lake Other air quality issues

5 Mammoth Lakes Air Quality Air Quality Trends in Mammoth Lakes Air quality measured as PM-10 has improved since 1990 when the Mammoth Lakes Air Quality Management Plan was adopted. Town ordinances and district rules required controls on residential wood burning and a reduction of road dust by using vacuum street sweepers to pick up cinders after winter storms.

6 Mammoth Lakes Air Quality Violations of the federal standard for PM-10 (150 µg/m 3 ) went from 12 in 1990 to zero after Mammoth still has a way to go to meet the State Standard for PM-10 (50 µg/m 3 ). The State Standard was violated about 27 days last year.

7 Mammoth Lakes Air Quality Summary

8 Sources of Mammoth Lakes Air Pollution and Control Measures : No burn days, require change-out of non-epa certified wood stoves and fireplaces on change of ownership. Estimate that 90% of the non- EPA certified stoves and fireplaces have been replaced. Proposed rule: : Apply no burn days to all wood burning. Currently EPA certified stoves are exempt. Wood Smoke: No burn days, require

9 Sources of Mammoth Lakes Air Pollution and Control Measures Use vacuum street sweeper to pick up cinders, and limit peak vehicle miles traveled to 106,600 per day. Proposed rule: : Require South Coast AQMD certified street sweepers (FYI- Mammoth already owns them). Will achieve 40% control efficiency as opposed to 34%. Controlling peak VMT to 106,600 will be difficult if future development projects are approved without air quality mitigation. Winter-time time Road Dust: Use vacuum

10 Sources of Mammoth Lakes Air Pollution and Control Measures Development activities cause temporary air pollution during their construction phases. Great Basin reviews construction proposals at the planning stage and imposes conditions to minimize air quality impacts. Development Activities: Development

11 Mammoth Lakes Energy Resources and Air Quality Improve building insulation in existing residential dwellings to reduce wood heating and wood smoke emissions. Decrease vehicle traffic by increasing ridership on shuttle buses. Reduce cinder use on high volume roadways in the winter by using geothermal heating.

12 Owens Lake Air Pollution Dust storms originating from the dried bed of Owens Lake make it the largest single source of PM-10 air pollution in the United States. In 2000 the lake bed emitted over 76,000 tons of PM- 10 annually (almost 7,000 tons on a peak day.)

13 Owens Lake Air Pollution Two views of the Owens Valley from the same aerial vantage point the top photo was taken on a calm day, the bottom photo on a windy day.

14 Why is the Dust a Problem?

15 µg/m³ 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2, Because the PM-10 Values are Very High The Federal 24-hr standard for particulate matter is 150 µg/m³. The significant harm to health level is 600 µg/m³. 24-hr levels of 3,900 µg/m³ (26 times Std.) have been measured in Keeler and 12,000 µg/m³ (80 times Std.) at Dirty Socks. µg/m³ 0 24-hr Sig. Harm Keeler Dirty Socks

16 2. Because Severe Exceedances are Frequent 1. Owens (3/1) 2. Owens (5/19) 3. Owens (4/17) 4. Owens (4/14) 5. Owens (6/9) 6. Owens (11/25) 7. Owens (2/28) 8. Owens (4/15) 9. Owens (11/26) 10. Owens (11/7) 11. to 25. Owens 26. El Paso TX 27. Owens (1/29) 28. El Paso TX to µg/m³ 7915 The US EPA AIRS Data for 2002 show that of the highest 30 PM-10 days reported nationally, 28 occurred at Owens Lake. Owens Lake s highest day of 7,915 was over 13 times higher than the highest non-owens day (590 in El Paso, Texas).

17 How is the Dust Being Controlled?

18 2003 SIP Revision Based on the results of the District s s research, we have determined that at least 29.8 square miles of lake bed needs dust controls in order to meet the National PM-10 Standard. This work will be complete by the end of 2006.

19 Approved Dust Control Measures Great Basin s s research has resulted in three approved methods of controlling dust that are feasible on a large scale: native vegetation, flooding with shallow sheets of water and a gravel blanket.

20 The LADWP has constructed two connections to the Los Angeles Aqueduct to provide water to the lake bed and buried well over 200 miles of pipeline and drainline to distribute and collect water on the lake bed.

21 They have moved over 9 million cubic yards of earth to construct roads and berms and constructed over 30 pumping and water treatment stations.

22 They have installed over 7,300 shallow flood bubblers and 3,500 miles of drip irrigation tubing.

23 And finally, they collected seed, raised juvenile plants in greenhouses, planted and are encouraging over 27 million plants to spread out on the formerly barren Owens Lake bed to control dust.

24 Recent photo taken from the Space Shuttle showing the LADWP s Owens Lake projects.

25 Provisions for Changes The District has continued to monitor air quality and lake bed dust activity. If new sources of dust threaten exceedance of the PM- 10 Standard, the SIP automatically requires the LADWP to install additional controls. In addition, after the Standard is met the LADWP may adjust the final configuration of measures in order to optimize water use.