Air Matters, April 2007

Volume 2, Issue 2

Bureau of Air Management
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 7921
Madison WI 53707

• Department Requesting Ozone Redesignation for 8 Eastern Wisconsin Counties
• Wisconsin’s Road to Reduce Diesel Emissions
• Governor announces state and regional efforts on climate change and energy independence

Department Requesting Ozone Redesignation for 8 Eastern Wisconsin Counties
By Anne Bogar

Eight eastern Wisconsin counties (Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington, Ozaukee, Kewaunee and Manitowoc) have been breathing cleaner air because of effective air pollution control strategies for ozone and milder and less humid weather patterns during recent years. As a result, the Department of Natural Resources is preparing ozone redesignation request plans that it expects to submit to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2007. If approved, industry located within the eight counties may be able to expand without some of the regulations they currently face.

In 2004, ten counties in the state were designated by EPA as “non-attainment counties” for ozone meaning that air monitoring data over a previous three year period showed that they did not meet the federal 8-hour ozone standard. Now, based on monitoring data for the last three years, eight of the ten counties are in compliance with the federal ozone standard. The two counties that are still violating the standard include Sheboygan and Door Counties.

When an area shows that it may be meeting a federal standard sooner than is required, a “redesignation” request may be submitted to EPA asking that the area be renamed an “attainment” area rather than a “nonattainment” area. This is significant because attainment counties do not require emission offsets for new or expanding businesses with air emissions. However, the redesignation request must demonstrate that the area will continue to use and enforce current air emission control programs and maintain compliance with the federal standard for ten years. In addition, the request must include a menu of “contingency control measures” which could be put into place very quickly if the area again violates the federal standard. The emission controls in place include the vehicle emissions testing program, regional controls on the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from power plants and large industrial sources, federal vehicle emission standards, reformulated fuels, various controls on industrial and commercial air emissions sources and a variety of voluntary emission reduction efforts.

Redesignation sought for two separate areas

The Department has prepared two separate redesignation requests which are now available for public comment. One request is for the moderate non-attainment area counties of Kenosha, Racine, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee, and one is for the basic non-attainment area counties of Kewaunee and Manitowoc. Public hearings will be held for each of the two requests. Information on the public hearings as well as draft documents may be found on the Department’s web site at http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/air/ozone/1hrredesfaq.htm. The public comment period for both requests will close on May 7, 2007.

For further information on the ozone redesignation requests, please contact Al Shea at 608.266.5896 or Allen.Shea@wisconsin.gov.

Bogar is an air quality specialist with the Bureau of Air Management located in Madison.

Wisconsin’s Road to Reduce Diesel Emissions
By Peter McMullen and Ed Jepsen

Diesel engines are the workhorses that power most large on-road and off-road equipment such as trucks, buses, and tractors. These engines also emit a mixture of gases and particles, including nitrogen oxides and a variety of air toxics that can cause public health problems and are suspected of causing cancer. Wisconsin is successfully reducing these emissions through a variety of efforts to provide cleaner fuels, retrofit school buses, and limit engine idle time.

Efforts to reduce diesel emissions in Wisconsin go back to the start of the Marquette Interchange reconstruction project in 2004 [exit DNR]. The focus at that time was to encourage the use of on-road diesel fuel (with lower sulfur content) in off-road construction equipment as opposed to off-road fuel (with higher sulfur content), and to limit engine idling time.

In 2006, ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel as required by federal law began reaching pumps in anticipation of new low emission diesel engines in 2007. Now, the City of Milwaukee is using cleaner bio-diesel fuel at 2 percent concentration in their municipal fleet and will transition to a 5 percent concentration with the hopes of increasing the ratio in the future. The City of Manitowoc will soon begin using biodiesel in their Maritime Metro Transit buses. Madison Gas & Electric and the University of Wisconsin-Madison burn ULSD fuel with 20% bio-diesel.

In response to the need for more biodiesel and with the help of state grants, facilities are being built in DeForest and Evansville to produce tens of millions of gallons of biodiesel per year from soybeans and waste oils. The construction of these facilities fits with Governor Doyle’s plan to generate 25% of the state’s electricity and transportation fuel from renewable resources by 2025.

Using a federal highway grant, the Department of Natural Resources has been working with school districts and bus companies in southeast Wisconsin to add diesel oxidation catalysts to school buses. The successful project has retro-fitted approximately 550 buses and has now begun focusing on projects with municipal fleets for both on and off-road equipment. Similar projects under the Department’s Clean Air Faster initiative have funded retrofits for 300 buses in sixteen school districts located from northeast to southwest Wisconsin. The initiative has been successful in securing federal Environmental Protection Agency funds for off-road equipment in both Dane and Milwaukee Counties, as well as for waste hauling equipment owned by Veolia Environmental Services and City of DePere.

The EPA Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative [exit DNR] is a collaborative effort to reduce emissions from both publicly and privately owned diesel engines. One effort recruits truck owners for the national SmartWay Transport Partnership program [exit DNR] and includes Wisconsin partners who are committed to reducing air pollution and improving fuel efficiency.

In addition, the Wisconsin Department of Commerce began a five year grant program last year that assists with the installation of auxiliary power units to reduce emissions from idling engines and fuel usage. The Wisconsin DNR has received a grant to establish a truck stop gate electrification unit along the I-94 corridor in southeast Wisconsin that allows trucks to hook-up and run auxiliary equipment (including internet and cable) to avoid engines idling for extended periods of time.

The efforts outlined above are just a sampling of the many ways that diesel emissions are being reduced and shows what can be accomplished when problems are approached in a multi-faceted manner. For further information, please contact either Peter McMullen at 414.263.8751 or Peter.McMullen@wisconsin.gov, or Ed Jepsen at 608.266.3538 or Edward.Jepsen@wisconsin.gov.

McMullen is a transportation planner in DNR'S Southeast Region office in Milwaukee.
Jepsen is coordinator for the Department’s Cleaner Air Faster initiative located in Madison.

Governor announces state and regional efforts on climate change and energy independence

On April 5, 2007, Governor Jim Doyle created a new Office of Energy Independence, appointed a global warming task force, and launched a renewable energy trading effort for the Midwest. For information see the governor's press release [PDF, 88KB].

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