Air quality in four counties in Texas, including Dallas and Tarrant, could violate new, strict federal standards, according to a recent memo delivered to state environmental regulators.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will now determine whether to apply a “nonattainment” designation to the two counties at a meeting in December. The TCEQ will also assess the counties of Harris and Bowie, the two other areas that are potentially below federal requirements.
The standards, set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this year, state that municipalities are in violation of air quality requirements if particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) exceeds nine micrograms per cubic meter. Based on this year’s data, all four counties could be breaching this standard, which assesses particulate that is a fraction of the size of a grain of sand.
Should the TCEQ deem Dallas and the other counties to be in violation, increased efforts would be needed to reduce particulate levels, which can come from industry activity and vehicles on the road.
The City of Dallas is known for having poor air quality, with previous studies showing that ozone levels are 150% higher than the nationally recommended levels. As previously reported in The Dallas Express, substandard air quality has been linked to Autism and even found to cause weight gain.
“Fine particulate matter infects the air we breathe and threatens our health… This proposed designation could force reductions in pollution from construction sites, power plants, cars and trucks, gas-powered lawn equipment, and other sources of deadly particulate matter,” the Dallas City Hall advocate for Environment Texas, Ian Seamans, said in a Tuesday press release, per KERA News.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) says the implications of nonattainment are severe and could derail transportation projects “for decades,” according to a memo from the agency. The department stressed the need to ensure that any analysis is not biased by misleading readings.
“TxDOT commented that TCEQ should not consider data from near-road monitors and that exceptional events demonstrations should be considered in the recommendation to the commission,” the memo said.
State regulators are set to vote on whether Dallas County violates air quality standards at a meeting on December 18.