State Health Department Concludes Ozone Forecasting for 2007
September 6, 2007—Denver—The Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment will issue the final air
quality forecast of the 2007 ozone season Thursday
afternoon, department officials confirmed today. The
ozone-forecasting season begins June 1 and traditionally
concludes the last day of August. However, predicted
meteorological conditions conducive to increased
ground-level ozone concentrations prompted the department to
extend the forecasting effort into September. "With the
return of more seasonal weather conditions, we believe the
time is right to end the summer forecasting effort," said
Paul Tourangeau, director of the Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment's Air Pollution Control
Division. Forecasters now will turn their attention to the
wintertime air quality forecasting, beginning Nov. 1 and
extending through March 31. The first red or blue advisory
of the wintertime High Pollution Advisory Program will be
issued on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 4 p.m., taking effect at
midnight. For 2007, 44 Ozone Action Alerts were issued.
One or more Denver-metropolitan area and North Front Range
monitors recorded ground-level ozone concentrations at or
above the federal health-based standard on nine separate
days this summer. One monitor, located in northern
Jefferson County, recorded preliminary values this summer
that, when considered as part of a rolling three-year
average, appear to have put the Front Range region out of
compliance with a federal health-based standard for
ground-level ozone. Once the data is validated, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) likely will designate
the nine-county region (Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder,
Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld
counties) as out of compliance with the existing eight-hour
ozone standard. The area then will be considered a "nonattainment"
area. State officials expect EPA to make its designation
announcement by the end of the year.
The department and its partners already have begun work
to develop a plan to further reduce ozone concentrations to
attain the standard. The plan will be submitted to the
Colorado Air Quality Control Commission for approval by the
end of 2008, with legislative and gubernatorial approval
expected after that. Once all state approval processes are
complete, the plan ultimately will be submitted to the EPA
for approval in 2009.
Department-maintained monitors sample the air year round.
Real-time air quality monitoring data is updated hourly on
the department's Web site and can be viewed at either
http://coloradoairquality.info or http://ozoneaware.org.
Residents also may call 303-782-0211 for recorded air
quality information. --30-- |
