State of Montana Seeks Redesignation of Whitefish Air Quality Nonattainment Area
“For a number of reasons, businesses often prefer to locate in areas with clean air,” said Liz Ulrich, supervisor of DEQ’s Air Quality Analysis and Planning Section. “Attaining air quality standards means cleaner air, better health, and greater economic opportunities in this community. Removing the nonattainment status will make it easier for new businesses to choose Whitefish.”
HELENA—The State of Montana and its Department of Environmental Quality formally requested that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognize that the City of Whitefish, Mont. is in compliance with national air quality standards.
Redesignation from nonattainment to attainment status removes barriers to doing business in the area and signals that the community is breathing healthy air.
The City of Whitefish has been in nonattainment status for the pollutant PM10, or coarse particulate matter, since 1993. Nonattainment means that the air quality is worse than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards as defined by the federal Clean Air Act. To protect air quality in nonattainment areas, requirements for businesses are often more stringent than in clean air areas and can hinder new economic development.
“For a number of reasons, businesses often prefer to locate in areas with clean air,” said Liz Ulrich, supervisor of DEQ’s Air Quality Analysis and Planning Section. “Attaining air quality standards means cleaner air, better health, and greater economic opportunities in this community. Removing the nonattainment status will make it easier for new businesses to choose Whitefish.”
In 1993, the EPA designated Whitefish as a nonattainment area for the PM10 standard. The most significant source of PM10 in the area was dust generated from paved and unpaved roads, parking lots and alleys. Flathead County and the City of Whitefish adopted a plan to reduce dust that required paving, specified the type of material that may be used for sanding and chip sealing, and prioritized street sweeping.
As a result of that effort, and through coordination with Flathead County and EPA, DEQ has demonstrated that the Whitefish area now meets the criteria for redesignation under the Clean Air Act. DEQ looked at data from 2014-2019 to ensure that the area complies with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Following redesignation, a maintenance plan will be in place to ensure ongoing compliance with air quality standards.
The process to demonstrate an area should be redesignated based on meeting air quality standards is resource-intensive and requires extensive data gathering and analysis, as well as coordination with EPA. In recent years, redesignating areas meeting standards became a priority for both state and federal agencies. The Whitefish PM10 area is the 10th redesignation request Montana has sent to EPA since 2016.
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