Category: Air Quality

May 4, 2022, Agenda: Air Quality Board Meeting

Meeting Agenda Call-to-Order Date of the Next Air Quality Board Meeting: June 1, 2022 Approval of the Minutes for the April 6, 2022, Board Meeting Five-Year Reviews:R307-105. General Requirements: Emergency Controls.R307-401. Permit: New and Modified Sources.R307-403. Permits: New and Modified Sources in Nonattainment Areas and Maintenance Areas.R307-406. Visibility.R307-410. Permits: Emissions Impact Analysis.R307-414. Permits: Fees for …

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Inland Port Monitoring

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has been tasked with establishing baseline conditions for stormwater and air quality within the statutorily defined area of Utah Inland Port (UIP) Authority. In addition, DEQ has been a part of land remediation and clean-up efforts at the North Temple Landfill Redevelopment site. Data collected by DEQ through …

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Lead-Based Paint Program

Lead-Based Paint (LBP) was banned for use in houses in 1978, however, in houses built before 1978, there is a possibility that LBP is still present. Dust from LBP is the leading cause of lead poisoning in children which is a serious and preventable environmental health problem for both children and adults. In children, elevated …

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April 6, 2022, Agenda: Air Quality Board Meeting

Meeting Agenda Call-to-Order Date of the Next Air Quality Board Meeting: May 4, 2022 Approval of the Minutes for the February 2, 2022, Board Meeting Propose for Public Comment: Amend R307-506. Oil and Gas Industry: Storage Vessel; R307-508. Oil and Gas Industry: VOC Control Devices; R307-509. Oil and Gas Industry: Leak Detection and Repair Requirements; …

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February 2, 2022, Agenda: Air Quality Board Meeting

Meeting Agenda Call-to-Order Date of the Next Air Quality Board Meeting: March 2, 2022 Approval of the Minutes for the December 1, 2021, Board Meeting Propose for Final Adoption: Repeal of R307-301. Utah and Weber Counties: Oxygenated Gasoline Program as a Contingency Measure. Presented by Bo Wood. Informational Items. Linkages between Air Quality and the …

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Air Quality
2021 State of the Environment Report

DAQ works to ensure that the air in Utah meets health and visibility standards established under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA).   DAQ responsibilities include: Ensuring the state’s compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and visibility standards at its national parks Enacting rules pertaining to air-quality standards Developing plans to meet federal …

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Image of the impaction substrates

Particulate Chloride in the Urban Environment

The University of Utah will conduct a study intended to significantly reduce uncertainties regarding the temporal, spatial, and particle size distributions of particulate chloride. Through source apportionment, the study will also identify the dominant sources of this important halogen. These results will provide important emission inventory constraints for future air quality modeling efforts performed by UDAQ and others.

  • Principal Investigator: Kevin Perry (University of Utah)
  • Funded by Science for Solutions Research Grant: $75,735
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Image: Formation region over Farmington Bay at 11 AM and lake breeze boundary (blue line) progressing by 1 PM down the Salt Lake Valley.

Impacts of the Great Salt Lake on Summer Ozone Concentrations Along the Wasatch Front

The University of Utah is conducting a study to determine the meteorological factors that contribute to elevated surface ozone near the Great Salt Lake. The core task for this project is to evaluate from ozone observations and meteorological observations and model analyses the timing of buildup in ozone in the southern Farmington Bay region and subsequent transport into Davis and Salt Lake counties. Completion of this task will provide resources that are likely to enhance operational air quality forecasting and provide critical information to initialize and verify air chemistry models used to identify approaches to meet federal air quality standards.

  • Principal Investigator: John Horel (University of Utah)
  • Funded by Science for Solutions Research Grant: $63,084
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Image: WRF zoom-in of 1.33km-domain with black circles indicating monitoring stations used for model performance evaluation

Development of Top-down Hydrocarbon Emission from Oil and Gas Production in the Uintah Basin

Utah State University and the University of Utah will use a method known as top-down emission estimation to refine volatile organic compound emissions from oil and gas production based on long-term surface level measurements of methane and hydrocarbons in the Uintah Basin. The objective of this project is to improve the Utah Division of Air Quality (UDAQ) bottom-up Uintah Basin Emission Inventory (UBEI), which is critical information for developing a regulatory model for UDAQ’s State Implementation Plan to attain the 8-hour federal ozone standard.

  • Principal Investigators: Seth Lyman (Utah State University), John C. Lin (University of Utah)
  • Funded by Science for Solutions Research Grant: $106,095
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Image: WRF 2-m air temperature and wind velocity predictions on 10-km grid for northern Utah at 4:00 am April 12, 2017 (left) and 4:00 am April 13, 2017 (right).

Development of a WRF-based Urban Canopy Model for the Greater Salt Lake City Area

Brigham Young University will conduct a two-year project that will utilize state-of-the-science meteorological modeling with land use descriptions of the Great Salt Lake area to characterize impacts of urban growth on local meteorological conditions. Model methodology and usage will be documented so air quality modelers can use existing or self-developed future results for additional urban growth and air pollutant assessments.

  • Principal Investigator: Bradley Adams (BYU)
  • Funded by Science for Solutions Research Grant: $59,411
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Image: Observed ozone concentrations at Ouray and Vernal during January – March 2013. Time in MST.

Assessing Wintertime Ozone Prediction Sensitivity to Photochemical Mechanism

Ramboll and the Utah State University – Bingham Research Center (BRC) will conduct a study to thoroughly investigate wintertime ozone prediction sensitivity in the Uinta Basin among two current photochemical mechanisms using a consistent modeling platform. Recent air quality modeling conducted by BRC using different modeling systems indicates that the Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism (RACM) produces much higher ozone concentrations than the Carbon Bond (CB) mechanisms. Ramboll and the BRC will comprehensively test and understand RACM2 performance in simulating wintertime ozone in the Uinta Basin relative to the CB version 6 (CB6) mechanism currently implemented in the CAMx air quality model used by the Utah Division of Air Quality.

  • Principal Investigators: Greg Yarwood (Ramboll), Seth Lyman (Utah State University)
  • Funded by Science for Solutions Research Grant: $98,048
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Ethylene Oxide Monitor-90 wide

Ethylene Oxide in Utah

Ethylene Oxide Study EPA’s latest National Air Toxics Assessment identified ethylene oxide as an air toxic pollutant of emerging concern, with potential to lead to elevated cancer risk. To determine any potential health risk from exposure to ethylene oxide in Utah communities, the Division of Air Quality and the University of Utah will measure ambient …

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December 1, 2021 Agenda: Air Quality Board Meeting

Meeting Agenda Call-to-Order Date of the Next Air Quality Board Meeting: January  5, 2021 Approval of the Minutes, November 3, 2021, Board Meeting. Propose for Final Adoption: Repeal R307-121. General Requirements: Clean Air and Efficient Vehicle Tax Credit. Presented by Bo Wood. Propose for Final Adoption: Amend R307-401-7. Public Notice; R307-401-19. General Approval Order; and …

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