Di erent ozones
Area pollution sources
The Environmental Protection Agency recognizes two main types of ozone: one that is bene cial and one that is detrimental to people.
All other states: 39% International: 34% San Antonio: 19% Corpus Christi: 2% Houston: 2% Austin: 1% Dallas: 1% Temple/Waco: 1% Tyler/Longview: 1%
h e r i c o z o This naturally forming gas in the upper atmosphere protects the Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
San Antonio’s pollution sources
l e v e l o z o
Human-made pollutants reacting with heat and sunlight create a gas that is unhealthy to breathe.
SOURCE: ALAMO AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS COMMUNITY IMPACT
35 years sooner than expected. “The plan we approved calls for clos- ing the Spruce I coal plant by 2028 and transitioning Spruce II to natural gas by 2027—minimizing the burden on our ratepayers,” he said. Nirenberg said the plan will add more than 4,900 megawatts of gener- ation capacity, including new wind and solar capacity and battery storage. CPS Energy has also made a push for alternative energy production by implementing programs, such as Windtricity and Casa Verde. The Windtricity program allows residential and business customers to enroll in an initiative to support the growth of wind power. In 2009, Universal City was the rst Texas city to become a Green Power Community under the EPA for using the Windtricity program and support- ing the development of wind power. The Casa Verde program aims to help low-income households reduce power consumption and has weatherized 30,000 homes since its inception. Williams said Universal City and other area cities have helped promote alternative power sources in the com- munity, encouraging solar power use to residents interested in cutting costs. Williams said the AACOG is working with other area governments to pro- mote programs that help cut pollution. “I think you will nd a lot of cities in our area are doing their best to at least try to meet the requirements and hope- fully lessen the amount of pollution we have in the air,” Williams said. Health concerns Aside from regulation, an increase in ground-level ozone can lead to other health concerns for the San Antonio area, Metro Health Program Manager Kyle Cunningham said. Con- ditions could include reduced lung
Hufstetler said. These tests will cost residents about $20 during the yearly state inspection. “And if their vehicles do not pass, then that could mean they pay more to get their vehicles in com- pliance,” he said. Meeting EPA standards The moderate designation means the area is required to comply with EPA air quality regulations by Sept. 24, 2024, or face further regulations being imple- mented. It also gives the TCEQ the reg- ulatory role to enforce the EPA’s Clean Air Act regulations. EPA requirements are measured in parts per billion, or the parts of ozone per 1 billion parts of air. Under a standard that was set in 2015, the requirement to be within attainment was decreased from 75 ppb to 70 ppb. Williams said at that time the committee was aware of the area potentially entering nonattainment. “When [the] EPA changed the parameters from 75 parts per billion to 70 [ppb], we knew we were in trouble,” Williams said. To help meet EPA standards, the AACOG is working with the Clean Cit- ies Coalition National Network—a pro- gram by the U.S. Department of Energy to promote clean fuel alternatives and raise awareness of pollution caused by idling cars—and other organizations to help inform the community. In North San Antonio, Alamo Cement Co. completed a 45-acre solar panel eld that company o cials said will help reduce the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions by 8,000 tons yearly. In the area, municipally owned CPS Energy is the largest provider for elec- tricity and energy generation. To help cut back on contributions to pollution, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the city will leave coal energy behind by 2028, which is
SOURCES: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, NASA COMMUNITY IMPACT
still the responsibility of the city, the county and local organizations to meet EPA requirements, Hufstetler said. “Our modeling only shows that really only about 20% comes from our metro area,” he said. “The other 80% we nd comes in from other parts of the coun- try and other parts of the world.” Of the roughly 20% of overall pollu- tion the area contributes, 29.7% of the contribution is from mobile sources, which include automobiles and other road vehicles; 25.2% of the contri- bution is from point sources, which are classi ed as factories and power plants, including coal production, Hufstetler said. With the transition to moderate non- attainment, large businesses in the area will have to meet rules to o set pro- jected emissions. “The most directly impacted will be large industries, those that have the potential to emit 100 tons a year of emissions,” Hufstetler said. “Those are the ones that feel the change most acutely from marginal to moderate.” The more severe the nonattain- ment status, the higher that o set ratio will be, which may discourage businesses from coming to the area, Hufstetler said. “For businesses in the area that have to use a technology solution to help o set their emissions, I imagine that cost will get passed down to the con- sumer,” he said. For Bexar County residents, an emis- sions inspection will be required for all cars 2-24 years old. The emissions test is required to be implemented by 2026,
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the EPA requirements the best we can.” Following this fall in the area’s air quality rating, drivers and business owners are now facing new regula- tions. These include emissions testing for automobiles and stricter allowable emissions levels for businesses. Lyle Hufstetler, natural resources project administrator for the AACOG, said the increase in regulations could result in businesses being deterred from moving or expanding to the area, or could increase product costs as busi- nesses pay to meet requirements. Ozone’s importance Stratospheric ozone forms naturally in the upper atmosphere and acts as a protectant from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. But ground-level ozone is created through the two types of interactions. One is the human-made and natu- ral emissions of volatile organic com- pounds—which include petroleum fuels, paint thinners and dry clean- ing agents—and the other is nitrogen oxides interacting with heat and sun- light, such as vapors from gas and coal, the EPA website states. Hufstetler said Guadalupe, Comal, Wilson, Atascosa, Medina, Bandera and Kendall counties are “in compli- ance with the ozone standard.” “Bexar County is what is in nonat- tainment right now,” Hufstetler said. Moving to moderate Despite the 19% San Antonio con- tributes to the area’s total pollution, it’s
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