The Denver area was officially cited with failing to meet federal limits on ozone buildup Tuesday — requiring officials to draft a new plan for cutting the smog-creating pollutants from cars and industrial plants.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announcement has been anticipated since the summer, when the region’s air exceeded health standards nine times and surpassed a maximum three-year ozone pollution average.
Ozone — a colorless, corrosive gas — is a respiratory irritant when it accumulates at ground level.
The gas is created primarily in the summer from a mixture of volatile chemicals mainly produced by combustion that then interact with sunlight and heat.
The violation revokes a 2002 waiver from the EPA that allowed state and regional air-quality organizations to establish alternative controls for ozone.
The Regional Air Quality Council already has begun work on a new attainment plan, which may include options such as increased use of alternative fuels and inspections for cars and trucks, and new pollution-control requirements for existing power plants.
“We’re developing this plan over this next year to get us back into attainment no later than 2010,” said Ken Lloyd, executive director of the organization. “We’re not that far out. We’re just barely over the standard.”
The EPA is set to establish even tougher ozone standards next spring.
