BLM AK - Alaska Air Resources Program Support
Congress designed the Clean Air Act to protect public health and welfare from different types of air pollution caused by a diverse array of pollution sources. Congress established much of the basic structure of the Clean Air Act in 1970, and made major revisions in 1977 and 1990. Dense, visible smog in many of the nation's cities and industrial centers helped to prompt passage of the 1970 legislation at the height of the national environmental movement. The subsequent revisions were designed to improve its effectiveness and to target newly recognized air pollution problems such as acid rain and damage to the stratospheric ozone layer. To protect public health and welfare nationwide, the Clean Air Act requires EPA to establish national ambient air quality standards for certain common and widespread pollutants based on the latest science. EPA has set air quality standards for six common "criteria pollutants": particulate matter (also known as particle pollution), ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. States are required to adopt enforceable plans to achieve and maintain air quality meeting the air quality standards. State plans also must control emissions that drift across state lines and harm air quality in downwind states. Other key provisions are designed to minimize pollution increases from growing numbers of motor vehicles, and from new or expanded industrial plants. The law calls for new stationary sources (e.g., power plants and factories) to use the best available technology, and allows less stringent standards for existing sources. In Alaska the Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Air Quality (ADEC) is responsible for controlling and mitigating air pollution and for conserving the clean air that is enjoyed in most locations of Alaska including on federal lands within Alaska�s borders. (Federal Clean Air Act and state law in Title 44, Chapter 46, and Title 46, Chapter 3 and Chapter 14). Federal land managers, including BLM, are required to adhere to the CAA and to ensure all federal and state laws are met. The BLM Alaska air resource program, as part of the Soil, Water and Air program subactivity, has rapidly evolved over the past several years as air issues have the potential to significantly impact management decisions, and following implementation of the �Memorandum of Understanding among the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Interior, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, regarding Air Quality Analysis and Mitigation of Federal Oil and Gas Decisions through the National Environmental Policy Process� (June 11, 2011)(copy in file). Alaska is generally considered to have pristine air quality. In large parts of the state this remains true, but air quality impacts exist in areas where there are population centers or industrial and resource development. Statewide resource development, especially in the oil and gas arena, has added to the future air quality workload demand. New resource development statewide have the potential to impact air quality on BLM lands, as well as BLM authorized resource development, might impact air quality downwind on state, private or federal lands managed by other agencies. Additionally, BLM Alaska will need to demonstrate compliance with the Clean Air Act, including the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, Greenhouse Gas emissions and the Regional Haze Rule. BLM Alaska will establish a cooperative agreement with a qualified recipient for the purpose of evaluating air quality impacts that potentially could impact BLM and neighboring lands (State, Federal, corporate, tribal and private). The recipient will cooperatively work with the BLM Alaska State Office, National Operations Center air resource specialists, and where appropriate, the district and field office staff, in responding to general air quality questions and concerns from the Alaskan public. The recipient will provide input to ongoing statewide air quality issues on request of the BLM project manager. Additionally this agreement will allow work in support of uniform air quality modeling and monitoring projects. BLM Alaska has performed modeling studies for oil and gas development on BLM land. Through this agreement the recipient will cooperate in the review of previous modeling projects and share in the development and interpretation of future modeling analyses. The goal of this cooperation is to develop a uniform modeling approach applicable to most areas of the state. Alaska is the only Arctic state in the nation and has unique challenges for modeling due to the distinctive composition and photochemical processes in the arctic and sub-arctic atmospheres. BLM Alaska has conducted some initial meteorological and air quality monitoring projects. Through this agreement, BLM Alaska will share the gained experience/knowledge all with data from the recipient to enhance the current program. The recipient will be able apply the BLM Alaska experience to other monitoring projects within the state. By cooperating on future monitoring projects, BLM Alaska ensures that the sampling approach yields data that are easily compared with other measurements made throughout the state. Currently the BLM air resources program has conducted or contracted several air quality or meteorological data collection and analysis projects. Through this agreement, the recipient will cooperatively work with BLM AK to assist in oversight and review of performance and products and provide analysis and review for Resource Management Plans (RMP), General Conformity Determinations, Environmental Impact Studies, air quality modeling and other air quality related questions. The recipient air quality staff will have to be experienced in most aspects of the air quality issues facing BLM. The recipient currently has staff, office space and equipment to perform this requirement with BLM.
Office: Bureau of Land Management
blockard@blm.gov
