UDAQ is currently developing the Northern Wasatch Front (NWF) Moderate State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the 2015 8-hour ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard. The following tabs contain the technical support documentation (TSD) pertaining to the development of the SIP and associated administrative rules. These are draft documents and are subject to change. Contact Ryan …
Read MoreFAQs Questions? Ryan Bares (rbares@utah.gov)Lexie Wilson (lexiewilson@utah.gov)
Read MoreThe development of an Ozone SIP is very much an iterative process. The technical foundation of any SIP involves numerous emissions inventories, air quality modeling assumptions, potential emission controls, and ever-fluctuating design values recorded throughout the air monitoring network. The rules for developing an ozone SIP provided by the EPA, known as the Ozone Implementation …
Read MoreOzone Overview Ozone is a colorless gas comprised of three oxygen atoms. It is not emitted directly into the air as a gas but is formed through a chemical reaction between nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of sunlight. While the ozone protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation in …
Read MoreOverview Within two years after setting or revising NAAQS for criteria pollutants, the EPA must designate areas as meeting (attainment) or not meeting (nonattainment) the air-quality standard. The EPA’s final designations are based on the most recent three years of air-quality monitoring data, recommendations from the state, and additional technical information. State recommendations are made …
Read MoreRACT Overview Under the Clean Air Act, all areas designated as a moderate or more severe nonattainment area for the 2015 8-hour ozone standard are required to implement RACT for all existing major sources of VOCs or NOx as well as all VOC sources subject to an EPA Control Technique Guideline (CTG). For ozone nonattainment …
Read MoreRACM Overview Under the Clean Air Act, all areas designated Moderate or more severe nonattainment areas for the 2015 8-hour ozone standard are required to implement RACM for point, area, off-road, and on-road source categories. RACM applies only to those point sources not already addressed as part of a RACT analysis. RACM implementation is required …
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Ozone is formed in Utah when NOx and VOCs break apart under intense sunlight and reform. The formation of ozone is most likely to occur on days with calm winds, no cloud cover and afternoon temperatures above 90 degrees. Here are some ways you can protect your health and reduce your emissions.
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This fall’s snow blower exchange in the Uinta Basin offered 150 Greenworks 80-volt electric snow blowers to help reduce ozone-forming emissions.
Read MoreThe Uinta Basin lies in the northeast corner of Utah and is bounded on the north by the Uinta Mountains, on the south by the Tavaputs Plateau, on the west by the Wasatch Range, and on the east by elevated terrain that separates it from Piceance Basin in Colorado. Duchesne and Uintah Counties occupy most …
Read MoreJump to: Emission Reductions Jurisdiction Ozone Basics Partnerships Planning Studies Ozone Mystery The Uinta Basin lies in the northeast corner of Utah and is bounded on the north by the Uinta Mountains, on the south by the Tavaputs Plateau, on the west by the Wasatch Range, and on the east by elevated terrain that separates …
Read MoreEmission inventories—databases that list, by source, the amount of air pollutants released in a specific geographical area—help determine significant sources of pollutants, track emission trends over time, direct regulatory actions and control strategies, and provide data for computer modeling. 2011 Uinta Basin Oil and Gas Emissions Estimates Technical Document (08/14/13) In 2006, Environ and the …
Read MoreAir monitoring delivers critical information to the public and scientists about ozone levels in the Uinta Basin. Monitoring data in the Basin: Helps residents protect their health during high ozone periods. Aids scientists in their efforts to understand the causes and sources of ozone pollution. Provides regulatory data for the determination of attainment/nonattainment status. Assists …
Read MoreAir quality permits issued by the Division of Air Quality (DAQ) for oil and gas operations contain requirements that reduce emissions that lead to the formation of ozone. Oil and gas production accounts for 97 percent of the manmade volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in the Uinta Basin, but new federal standards, state rules, and …
Read MoreThese voluntary practices include a menu of measures oil and gas operators can use to reduce emissions. These voluntary practices enhance but do not replace existing rules and regulations. Recommended Controls Enhanced Inspection and Maintenance Program Infrared (IR) Camera Conduct a representative survey of facilities and equipment with the potential for fugitive VOC emissions using …
Read MoreHigh wintertime ozone concentrations are relatively new phenomena in rural areas of the West. First observed in 2005 in the oil and gas production areas in the Upper Green River Basin (UGRB) of Wyoming, preliminary studies showed that wintertime ozone levels would spike when snow cover, sunny skies, and strong temperature inversions trapped ozone and …
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