AIR POLLUTION CONTROL PROGRAM
GOAL
Protect the health of Ioways and the local community by ensuring safe air quality conditions.
HISTORY
The Iowa Tribe’s Office of Environmental Services (OES)was awarded several grants since 2002 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – Region 6 to develop and update emission inventories for Iowa Indian Country. An emission inventory (EI) is an accounting of the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere and is associated with a defined geographic area, source category(s), and time interval. EIs are important for evaluating air quality, examining changes in air quality over time, and they serve as fundamental building blocks in developing air quality control and maintenance strategies.
The OES was awarded a Clean Air Act (CAA) § 103 grant in 2002. For this Clean Air Capacity Building Project, an EI was completed for all sources of criteria air pollution within approximately 50-miles of the Iowa Tribe’s jurisdictional lands using data collected in 1999 from the EPA’s Aerometric Information Retrieval System. Additionally, the OES also reported emissions for all major sources ofhazardous air pollution within 50-miles of Iowa lands using 1999 data from the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory database.
In 2009, the OES received funding from the EPA’s Indian General Assistance Program to (1) conduct a field assessment to identify point sources within the Iowa Tribe’s jurisdictional area and (2) develop an emissions source list using data from the 2002 National Emission Inventory (NEI). This source list was developed for point sources within Iowa Indian Country and an approximate 50-mile radius extending from the exterior of the tribal boundary and was developed using the Tribal Emissions Inventory Software Solution (TEISS), which is available to tribes from the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP).
In 2010, the OES was awarded the CAA § 103 grant to update the Tribe’s EI. The TEISS View software and the 2002 NEI data were used to complete the EI for point sources within the Iowa Tribe’s jurisdictional area and an approximate 50-mile radius exterior to the tribal boundary. The following seven criteria air pollutants and/or precursors were inventoried:
- Ammonia (NH3)
- Carbon monoxide (CO)
- Nitrogen oxide (NOx)
- Particulate matter 10 micrometers in diameter or smaller (PM10)
- Particulate matter 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller (PM2.5)
- Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
- Volatile organic compounds (VOC)
FY11 AIR POLLUTION CONTROL PROJECT
The OES was recently awarded another year of CAA § 103 funding from the EPA – Region 6 to update the Tribe’s EI using the TEISS View software and the most recent NEI data (i.e., 2008 NEI). The same seven criteria air pollutants and precursors listed above will also be examined. The project will be expanded, however, to estimate emissions from all four source categories: point, non-point, on-road mobile sources and non-road mobile sources. Outreach activities will also be conducted with the tribal community to increase knowledge and awareness about air quality problems and issues.
For more information about the Air Pollution Control Program, please contact the Office of Environmental Services (OES) at 405/547-5433.
Below are several websites where you can get more information on your local air quality:
- AIRNow (current and forecasted Air Quality Index (AQI); current ozone and PM2.5): http://www.airnow.gov
- AQI Report for OKC: http://www.deq.state.ok.us/aqdnew/AQIndex/OKC/okcaqi.htm
- AQI Report for Tulsa: http://www.deq.state.ok.us/aqdnew/AQIndex/Tulsa/tulaqi.htm
- Current Allergy Conditions and Forecast: http://www.pollen.com
- EPA Tribal Air: http://www.epa.gov/air/tribal/index.html
- Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality – Air Quality Division: http://www.deq.state.ok.us/aqdnew/index.htm
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