Air News (Region 5): EPA: Manitowoc and Door Counties in Wisconsin Now Meet Smog Standards‏

EPA: Manitowoc and Door Counties in Wisconsin Now Meet Smog Standards

CHICAGO (May 7, 2010) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 plans to approve requests from the state of Wisconsin to redesignate the Manitowoc County and Door County areas to attainment of the national health-based eight-hour outdoor standard for ozone. Ozone is commonly referred to as smog.

EPA said three years of complete, quality-assured, outdoor air monitoring data for 2006, 2007 and 2008 show that the areas meet the standard. Complete quality-assured monitoring data for 2009 show that the areas continue to meet the standard.

EPA also proposes to approve Wisconsin’s plans to continue to meet the eight-hour health-based ozone standard in the areas through 2020 and to approve motor vehicle emission budgets for Manitowoc and Door counties.

The actions were published on Tuesday, April 27 in the Federal Register. The public has 30 days to comment. Comments may be entered at http://www.regulations.gov/. Refer to dockets ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-2009-0730 and follow online instructions for submitting comments.

Comments may also be e-mailed to bortzer.jay@epa.gov or faxed to 312-692-2054.

Smog is formed when a mixture of pollutants react on warm, sunny days. The pollutants are released from cars, factories and a wide variety of other sources. Smog can cause respiratory problems, including coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest pain.
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EPA Updates BP Spill Website with Information on Dispersants

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday posted information on BP’s use of dispersants to its oil spill response website, www.epa.gov/bpspill. The site includes EPA’s plan to monitor BP’s use of dispersants as well as additional background information and frequently asked questions on dispersants. EPA will add information to the site as it becomes available.

EPA continues to add information to its BP oil spill response website to keep the public informed about the impact of the spill and the EPA’s response.

The dispersant page can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/bpspill/dispersants.html

Continue to track EPA’s response to the spill at http://www.epa.gov/bpspill.

Additional information on the broader response from the U.S. Coast Guard and other responding agencies is available at: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/