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August 10, 2005EPA looks at Michigan qualityGRAND RAPIDS (AP) - As part of sweeping energy legislation that President Bush signed into law, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will perform a two-year study of how other state's air pollution affects western Michigan.The new law, signed Monday, also will prevent the EPA from imposing any sanctions until the completion of its study of ozone pollution. Ozone is a gas that occurs naturally in the stratosphere about 10 to 30 miles above the earth's surface, forming a layer that protects life from the sun's harmful rays. In the earth's lower atmosphere, ground-level ozone is produced when certain emissions interact with sunlight and heat, and is considered harmful. When ground-level ozone drifts into Michigan communities from factories in such cities as Chicago, Milwaukee and Gary, Ind., the EPA designates the communities as nonattainment areas. The federal agency then directs state officials to correct the problem within a certain amount of time. In April 2004, the EPA designated several of the region's counties - including Kent and Ottawa - as having "marginal" nonattainment, the second-lowest level of unhealthy air. Cass and Muskegon counties were considered "moderate," which is one level higher, but were lowered again to "marginal" in September. Being classified as a nonattainment area could mean restrictions being imposed upon the area's residents, such as limiting hours for lawn mowing or requiring automotive-emissions testing, said Sean Bonyun, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph. Upton introduced the study into the energy bill. It also could mean a loss of business from companies not wanting to locate in an area designated as being in nonattainment, Bonyun said. "Our communities should not be penalized for pollution that's generated elsewhere," he told The Grand Rapids Press for a story published Tuesday. Ozone readings in Michigan often are higher along the Lake Michigan shoreline than anywhere in the state. Readings from ozone monitors in Holland, for example, often are higher than monitors in Grand Rapids, Lansing and even metropolitan Detroit. The EPA has acknowledged that "ozone transport" is taking place in western Michigan, said Mary Maupin, an air-quality analyst with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. "If the EPA does a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the situation in west Michigan, they will understand that it's not equivalent to the problems experienced in other parts of the country," Maupin said.
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