Columbia must develop plans to combat smog or risk federal sanctions

Columbia- If the hot, dry weather seen this summer is repeated over the next two years, Columbia, which currently violates federal smog standards, will risk federal sanctions including the potential loss of federal highway money, according to a report released today by the Southern Environmental Law Center. Clean Air for the Columbia Area: An Action Agenda, says that the region must better plan transportation and land-use to improve air quality. In the meantime, Columbia's air remains unhealthy to breathe on ozone alert days.

"The Columbia region is gambling on the weather to improve public health," said David Farren, air quality attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. "Columbia has made progress toward cleaner air, but without taking steps now to build on that progress to further reduce air pollution caused by more driving, sprawl, and industry emissions, breathing the region's air will remain a high risk activity."

So far this summer, nine of the state's 15 ozone violations have occurred in Richland county, which was given an "F" for ozone pollution last year by the American Lung Association.

"Research studies have tied air pollution to asthma attacks, cardiovascular and respiratory illness, cancer birth defects and even death. Unfortunately, millions of Americans, including those in Columbia, live in areas where air pollution puts them at risk -- especially our children, our elderly and those with lung disease," said Greg White, Vice President of the American Lung Association, Southeast Region. "For these reasons, The American Lung Association has been a leader in the fight for all people to breathe clean air and support efforts, like those outlined in this report, to help regions achieve it."

In April, 2004, portions of Lexington and Richland counties were identified as "nonattainment" for failing to meet federal health standards for ozone pollution, or smog. The region entered into an "Early Action Compact" with EPA which suspends the nonattainment designation status, in exchange for an earlier, 2007 deadline to achieve cleaner air. However, if the region should fail to meet the deadline or certain milestones associated with it the nonattainment designation is activated.

Preliminary modeling shows that the Columbia region may meet the federal smog standard by the 2007 deadline. However, even a slight deviation in the model, such as hotter weather or fewer clean cars on the road than expected, could cause the region to miss the deadline. For example, if the violations seen this year continue for the next two years, the deadline will not be met. Furthermore, Columbia must maintain the federal standards over the next 20 years to avoid violating the Clean Air Act. Without adopting additional clean up measures, this poses a greater challenge as the federal smog standard is expected to grow increasingly stringent.

Much of the Columbia area's pollution problem can be attributed to an increase in population and development patterns that cultivate a dependence on cars, offsetting the benefits of cleaner fuels and more efficient cars. The Columbia region has seen a 22 percent population growth in recent years, while development consumed land at four times that rate. The resulting increase in daily driving has seen tailpipe emissions become responsible for nearly half of the region's ozone-forming NOx emissions.

The region has taken many positive steps toward curbing these health threats and meeting federal clean up deadlines, such as retrofitting diesel fueled school buses to reduce emissions, encouraging carpooling among municipal employees, and increasing alternative fuel and low-emission vehicles in the Richland county fleet. However, the report outlines a number of strategies to further improve the region's air quality such as further coordinating its transportation and land use planning on a regional level to better gauge the impacts of major developments; pursuing an expanded public transit system; and pushing for aggressive implementation of federal and state programs to reduce power plant pollution.

Clean Air for the Columbia Area is the fifth in a series of reports the Southern Environmental Law Center has prepared for those areas of North and South Carolina with the unhealthiest levels of air pollution. Over the past several years, SELC has also worked to help bring the city of Atlanta into compliance with the Clean Air Act, through legal enforcement of transportation funding sanctions, and promoting policy changes in the areas of air quality, transportation and land use planning.