Spokane regional clean air plan gets 10-year extension

Nearly 40 years of work in the Spokane area to clean up the air recently got a new approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

It turns out that efforts to prevent dust and smoke pollution dating back to the late 1970s have been working.

The Spokane area had been in violation of clean-air standards and was required to develop a program to clear the air. Spokane was designated a “non-attainment” area in 1990 for dust, smoke and other particle pollution.

Air cleanup efforts on multiple fronts led to approval in 2005 of the first of two required attainment plans, which put the Spokane region back into attainment for air quality.

A second attainment plan was recently approved by the EPA and will run through 2025.

If Spokane can get through the coming 10-year attainment plan without violating clean air standards, then the Spokane area will no longer be under federal oversight, although it will have to continue to maintain clean air standards.

The new maintenance plan continues with existing control efforts and does not require any new ones.

Reporting and paperwork to demonstrate compliance will no longer be needed if the current 10-year plan succeeds, officials said.

The cleanup effort traces its history to amendments in 1977 to the Clean Air Act, said Lisa Woodard, spokeswoman for the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency.

“The community can feel good about the progress that’s been made with air quality,” she said.

Cleanup measures have included street sweeping during the winter, less use of traction sand, cleaner wood burning, a system for shutting down wood burning during periods of higher air pollution, wind erosion control in agricultural areas and work by the community to encourage good air quality practices.

Stoves that are certified for lower smoke emissions have helped improve air quality, too. For years, new stoves have had to be certified.

The type of traction sand now used is from harder rock and is washed to reduce dust coming from it when roadways dry out during winter, Woodard said.

The Spokane region, as well as most of Eastern Washington and much of North Idaho, is susceptible to air temperature inversions in which cold air hugs the ground and traps pollutants.

While inversions occur throughout other parts of the year, they are more intense during stable weather in late fall and winter.

Smoke pollution is the main source of air contamination. It is considered a health hazard because its tiny particles can be trapped deeply within the lungs, causing both temporary and long-term health problems.