Ozone levels in Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties could become more of an issue this year because the Environmental Protection Agency standard of 75 parts per billion may be lowered to 65 ppb.

That drop is in no way achievable, said David Grimes, regional planner for the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission.

If monitoring stations in Bonne Terre and Farrar, Mo., read ozone levels that are not compliant with the new standard, the counties would be designated nonattainment areas, leading to strict and costly regulations and the potential loss of businesses.

The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee recently met about lowering the air quality standard, and now the change is in the EPA's hands, Grimes said at an Environment Issues Committee meeting Friday afternoon. Whether the standard will be lowered to 65 ppb probably will be known by late summer, he said.

The problem with lowering EPA's current National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 75 ppb is it has "reached the point of absurdity," Grimes said.

Ninety-seven percent of ozone monitors nationwide would be out of compliance under the new regulation, he said, including Joshua Tree National Park in California.

He also expressed concern about incoming industry and businesses in the two counties. Once they learn about the nonattainment status, they might look elsewhere, he said.

Ozone season began April 1 and ends Oct. 31. Though the coming summer is predicted to be mild and ozone numbers may fall comfortably in compliance with 75 ppb, Grimes said, they will not hit or fall below 65 ppb.

"That's what were going to have to deal with this coming year," he said. "I don't know if anything can be done."

Aside from small acts people can do to help keep emissions low, such as carpooling, mowing lawns in the evening and "stopping at the click" at gas pumps, high ozone readings are out of their hands. Noticeably lowering ozone readings would require shutting down parts of the Mississippi River, Interstate 55, railroad activity and commercial operations, Grimes said.

The latest year-to-date ozone readings from 2012 to 2014 show a design value, which must be at or below 75 ppb, of 67 ppb for Ste. Genevieve and Perry counties.

The Critical Value is the current year's fourth highest daily maximum eight-hour ozone concentration. That number is 80 ppb for both counties. If average readings rise above 80, it could yield a violation of the 75 ppb standard.

The Critical Value to keep either monitor at or below 65 ppb is 45 ppb, Grimes said, "and that is not going to happen."

Ground-level ozone is an air pollutant that is harmful to breathe, and it damages crops, trees and other vegetation, according the EPA.

Hydrocarbons are precursors for ozone and are released into the air by decomposing organic matter. Other ozone precursors are nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds, which are light and travel from state to state and around the world.

If Perry or Ste. Genevieve counties were deemed nonattainment areas, the question would become how far the boundaries of the area would extend, Grimes has said. Counties adjacent to nonattainment areas also may come under question, meaning Cape Girardeau, Madison and Bollinger counties could see ramifications.

In the meantime, Grimes encouraged addressing the issue with area U.S. senators and representatives in an attempt to persuade EPA to leave the number alone.

"I've seen bad air," he said. "This ain't it."

ashedd@semissourian.com

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Pertinent addresses:

Perry County, MO

Ste Genevieve, MO