The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutAir Pollution Control Board (3)Minutes of the Yellowstone County Air Pollution Control Board meeting held August 8, 2000 at the Yellowstone County Air Pollution Control office. Members Present: Mr. L.D. Collins, Ms. Michelle Reed, Mr. Nick Shyne, Dr. Mark Waddington, Mr. Wade Steinmetz and Mr. Rich Schilf. Others Present: Mr. Steve Duganz, Mr. Russell Boschee The meeting was called to order at 7:35 P.M. by Chairman L.D. Collins. Mr. Shyne moved to accept the minutes of the June 13°i meeting as written. Mr. Schilf seconded, and the motion was passed. Concerning July's Industrial Compliance, Mr. Duganz said he inspected the Coors Barley Storage Facility near Huntley saying it was in full operation and no visible emissions were present. Concerning July's Administration, Mr. Duganz presented our agency's proposed budget for 2000-2001 saying although revenues do not match expenditures the gap will be closed with unused termination pay and reserve funds. He explained the line-by-line expenditures noting the capital outlay account was for a new computer. After the presentation, Mr. Shyne moved to accept the proposed budget for 2000-2001. Mr. Steinmetz seconded, and the motion passed. Mr. Duganz noted that the County Commissioners have banned open burning in the County except for essential agricultural practices. He noted that the EMPACT grant funds are in the mail, and our agency will begin expending funds shortly. Regarding July's Air Quality, Mr. Duganz noted that the smoky conditions have elevated the PM- 10 concentrations but not enough to be concerned. He said he downloaded the EPA Trends Report for 1999 from the EPA web site, and he noted the levels for sulfur dioxide were in the middle of cities reporting. The meeting was adjourned by Chairman L.D. Collins 8:15 PM. ,S;oy??,he r ' CE0 REP J E D CITY OF LAUREL YELLOWSTONE COUNTY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL 3306 Second Avenue North Billings, MT 59101 SEP 1 1 2?00 ri (406) 256-6841 CITY OF LAUREL JFIX t yc 256-6891 e-mail ycapc@imt.net Activity Report for the month of August, 2000 for submittal to the Yellowstone County Air Pollution Control Board on September 12, 2000. ]. INDUSTRIAL COMPLIANCE A. Empire Sand and Gravel's asphalt plant was stack tested in August. Observations at the time of the test indicated compliance, but we may have to wait about a month for actual results. II. ADMINISTRATION A. With 17% of our fiscal year over, we have expended approximately 16% of our budgeted funds. B. A copy of our current Board members and term expiration dates is enclosed. C. We have yet to receive any funding for the EMPACT project after being assured by EPA that we would have it by now. Some amount of technical work is being done, but no equipment will be purchased until we receive funding. III. MEETINGS A. A meeting with BLAQTC and DEQ representatives was attended. The DEQ would. like three current S02 monitoring sites relocated, but there is no agreement on who would pay for such moves. B. I was the speaker at a meeting of the Downtown Exchange Club. Air quality in general and smoke from the forest fires was the topic. Although the fire season is hopefully winding down, I have enclosed an informative letter from the State Medical Officer that you may find interesting. IV. AIR QUALITY A. Because of the open burning ban, no permits were issued in August. B. The PM-10 data for August was slightly above average, but well below the standard. Hopefully, we will have PM-2.5 data for August by next month. Through July, our PM-2.5 average is about one-half the standard. C. Monitoring data for August: - Some data is missing from Coburn Road due to installation of a new monitor. Carbon Monoxide Sulfur Dioxide Bridal Shop Lower Coburn High 1-hr. 2.8 ppm High 1-hr. .051 High 8-hr. 2.3 ppm High 24 hr. .010 Hourly Average 0.8 ppm High 5-min. ND Hourly Average .002 Sulfur Dioxide Coburn Road Sacrifice Cliff High 1-hr. .107 ppm High 1-hr. .053 ppm High 24-hr. .017 ppm High 24-hr. .015 ppm High 5-min. .198 ppm High 5-min. .374 ppm Hourly Average .007 ppm Hourly Average .005 ppm PM-10 Lockwood Park High Low Average Respectfully submitted, Steve Duganz Director 44 µ/m3 24 µ/m3 33 µ/m3 enclosures YELLOWSTONE COUNTY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD MEMBERS MEMBERS L. D. Collins, Chr. 401 Cottonwood Dr. Laurel, Mt. 59044 *HM: 628-2044 WK: 628-2002 Mark Waddington, V-Chr. 218 30°i St. West Billings, Mt. 59102 HM: 652-6018 *WK: 252-6325 Wade Steinmetz, Sec. 61564"St.SW Billings, Mt. 59106 HM: 656-9783 Michelle Reed 1039 Cedar Canyon Rd. Billings, Mt. 59101 HM: 252-5316 *WK: 247-3271 Rich Schilf 2421 River Oaks Dr. Billings, Mt. 59105 HM: 259-1362 *WK: 656-6399 Keith "Bill" Shikany 2000 Gorham Park Dr. Billings, Mt. 59102 HM: 656-3421 APPOINTED BY EXPIRATION DATE City of Laurel 6/30/01 5 Board Members 5 Board Members City-County Board of Health County Commissioners City of Billings 6/30/01 6/30/02 6/30/02 6/30/02 6/30/01 Nick Shyne County Commissioners 6/30/01 5918 Creek Dr. Billings, Mt. 59106 HM: 656-3939 Montana DEQ TEOM Definition Page I of 2 Department of 13nvironmental. Quality Letter from State Medical Officer Dr. Mike Spence, MD, MPH Pertinent information on long-term effects from smoke exposure Letter being distributed todav to colleaeues 23 August 2000 2 pll 2 Dear Colleague: FSCP:IL is nice to note that this long, hot, smoky summer will soon be over. I, like many of D you, would like to see some rain and can hardly wait until the first snowfall. The forest fires and their resultant smoke in our state continue to have a significant C I TY 0 F LAUREL impact on the health of many of our citizens. The individuals affected the most and having the most serious outcomes are those with underlying cardiac and/or pulmonary disease and the elderly. Individuals with asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other chronic pulmonary diseases as well as those with coronary artery disease, pulmonary hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases are particularly vulnerable when the air quality deteriorates. We must make special efforts to identify these individuals and assure that their exposure to an adverse environment is minimized. Currently our databases do not allow us to determine the true magnitude of the impact the poor air quality has had. However, we do have a fair amount of anecdotal information. The number of emergency room and urgent care visits for respiratory problems has reportedly increased in our towns where the air quality has been the poorest. In addition, the number of inhalators that are being prescribed and purchased by individuals with asthma is 2-3 times higher than normal summer months. We do not have data regarding the number of persons that have presented with angina and/or heart attacks this summer. Once these data are available I am sure that we will note an increase over similar time periods when we had better air quality. Although the impact of the poor air quality is quite serious for those with underlying heart and lung disease this is not true for healthier individuals. There is no doubt that the smoke is irritating and results in scratchy throats, dry coughs, irritated sinuses, headaches and rhinorrhea. However, these affects are not permanent. Studies have now been conducted in professional forest fire fighters that have been followed for up to 15 years. Although these individuals had many of the same acute, irritating health problems during their exposure to the smoky air, they did not suffer any long- term heart or lung problems. That is not to say that we can ignore the smoke and go on about business as usual. Increased levels of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide accompany the particulate matter in smoky air. This is important because it has an impact on our exercise tolerance. Therefore we should be careful to not overly exert ourselves when the quality of the air is poor. This also pertains to our children that are involved in sports. It is only prudent to assure that football and soccer practices are conducted indoors and games rescheduled when the quality of the air is poor. We do not need to sustain any preventable health problems in our youth. If you have any questions about these issues please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at (406) 444-1286 or email at mspence tilstate.nums. Sincerely, http://www.deq.state.mt.us/FireUpdates/DrSpence.htm 8/24/00