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A Review of Air Quality Improvements in the
State of Kansas Under the Clean Air Act
Background
The first Clean Air Act promoting uniform laws and
cooperative activities between the states and the federal govern-
ment to control air pollution was approved in the Congress on
December 17, 1963. This statute authorized federal grant funds
to support state, local, and multijurisdictional agencies in
their efforts to control air pollutant emissions. This Act was
amended on November 21, 1967. This amended Act established the
statutory concepts of air quality standards, air quality control
regions, and state implementation plans (SIP).
The Kansas Legislature adopted the first statute concerning
air pollution control activities in 1967. The state placed
responsibility in the Department of Health and, among other
things, authorized acceptance of federal grant funds to support
air pollution control activities. Since that time, the air
pollution control activities were placed under the Department
of Health and Environment, and there have been several revisions
to the Kansas statute in response to needs of the air program.
The 1967 Clean Air Act required the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare to identify air basins, both interstate and
intrastate. The Secretary was required to prepare air quality
criteria documents for pollutants of concern and companion docu-
ments identifying control techniques. The states were to use
those criteria documents as guides for developing air quality
standards which would protect the public against health and
welfare effects of the identified criteria pollutants. Under the
authority of the 1967 Act, the Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare designated six intrastate and one interstate air
quality control regions in Kansas in 1970. Figure 1 shows the
boundaries for those regions.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created in 1970
and was given responsibility for the air pollution control program.
The Clean Air Act of 1970 required the Administrator of EPA
to promulgate National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and
prepare guidelines for the states to use in preparing plans for
attainment and maintenance of those standards. EPA promulgated
the NAAQS April 30, 1971.
Table I contains the air quality standards for criteria
pollutants. The table includes total suspended particulate
matter (TSP) even though EPA replaced the TSP' standard with PM10
in 1987. The rationale for including TSP in this report is that
all states have long-term data, and those data show the change or
improvement in air quality over a long period of time. PM10 d^ta
have only been gathered for a short period and any trends are not
yet apparent.
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Total suspended
particulate matter (TSP)
(standard was replaced
by PM10 in 1987)
PH10 (July 1, 1987)
Sulfur Dioxide
Ozone (as revised
February 8, 1979)
Carbon Monoxide
Nitrogen dioxide
Table I
National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Primary
,1
75 /tg/m annual geometric mean
260 ;ig/m 24-hour value not to
be exceeded more than once per
year
50 jtg/m annual mean
150 ng/nT 24-hour average not
to be exceeded more than once
per year
80 fig/m annual arithmetic mean
365 fig/m maximum 24-hour
concentration not to be exceeded
more than once per year
0.12 ppm (235 ftg/mi ) 1-hour
average concentration not to
be exceeded more than once
per year
9 ppm (10 mg/m) maximum
8-hour concentration not to
be exceeded more than once
per year
35 ppm (40 mg/m ) maximum
1-hour concentration not to be
exceeded more than once per
year
0.053 ppm (100 /ig/m) annual
arithmetic mean
Secondary
,1
150 /tg/m3 24-hour value
not to be exceeded more
than once per year
Same as primary
1300 Mg/nr maximum 3-hour
concentration not to be
exceeded more than once
per year
Same as primary
Same as primary
Same as primary
Lead (October 5, 1978)
1.5 Mg/m maximum arithmetic
mean averaged over a calendar
quarter
Same as primary
Primary standards are set to protect public health and secondary standards to protect public welfare.
The initial promulgation included photochemical oxidants and hydrocarbons. The photochemical oxidaht
standard was revised to ozone in 1979 because the preponderance of photochemical oxidonts measured is
ozone. The hydrocarbon standard was deleted in 1982. The hydrocarbon measurements included all organic
compounds. Hydrocarbons were measured as a precursor to ozone, but only reactive organic compounds
take part in the photochemical reaction producing ozone. The term "hydrocarbon" has been dropped and
replaced with the term "volatile organic compounds" (VOC) because not all hydrocarbons are reactive.
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Section 110 of the 1970 Act required submittal of SIPs
within nine months of standard promulgation. The state of Kansas
submitted its plan on January 31, 1972. EPA approved the plan
on May 31, 1972. The Federal Register publication identified
deficiencies in the Kansas plan which were to be corrected in
a reasonable time. The basic plan provided for attainment and
maintenance of the NAAQS. The Kansas SIP also included an Emer-
gency Episode Plan. That plan provided for curtailment of
operations at certain sources in the event air quality levels
increased to certain concentrations and meteorological conditions
were expected to contribute to air stagnations for an extended
period of time.
The state of Kansas revised its statute, as well as rules
and regulations subsequent to the 1972 plan submittal, to cure
deficiencies identified in the May 31, 1972, rulemaking.
The Clean Air Act, as amended in 1977, significantly added
to the state and EPA responsibilities. The states were required
to identify areas in their jurisdiction where air quality was
worse than the NAAQS, equal to or better than the NAAQS, and
where there were insufficient data to determine the air quality.
These areas became known as nonattainment, attainment, and
unclassifiable. EPA promulgated a list of those areas on March 3,
1978. Table II identifies the Kansas nonattainment areas
designated in 1978. The states were required to submit plans
for attainment and maintenance of standards in the nonattainment
areas within nine months. Areas with air quality equal to or
better than a national standard were subject to the prevention
of significant deterioration (PSD) requirements of Part C of the
Act. The PSD requirements were adopted to protect areas with
air quality meeting the national standards. The 1977 amendments
provided for certain sanctions if states did not adopt or
implement plans providing for attainment of the standards.
In response to the 1977 amendments, the initial Kansas plan
was submitted September 17, 1979, with subsequent revisions in
October 1979 and March 1980. EPA approved the Kansas plan with
conditions April 3, 1981. During the subsequent years, the state
submitted revisions to satisfy the conditions of the 1981 approval
and cure identified plan deficiencies. The SIP and the subsequent
revisions provided a strategy for attainment and maintenance of
standards in the nonattainment areas. Among other control meas-
ures, the plan required reasonably available control technology
(RACT) on all major sources in the nonattainment areas. The state
also adopted provisions requiring lowest achievable emissions
rates for new sources in nonattainment areas. Later, the state
adopted requirements for best available control technology (BACT)
in attainment areas to prevent significant deterioration of air
quality.
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The state submitted a lead SIP on February 17, 1981, to
satisfy the requirements of the Act in response to EPA's
promulgation of the ambient lead standard on October 5, 1978.
EPA approved the Kansas lead SIP October 22, 1981.
EPA promulgated PM10 standards replacing the TSP standards
of 1971 on July 1, 1987. Kansas submitted a final PM10 SIP
revision on October 31, 1989, which EPA approved on January 16,
1990. All remaining TSP nonattainment areas were designated
"unclassified" with respect to the old standard.
Table II
Kansas Nonattainment Area Designations (1978)
County
Wyandotte
Shawnee
Johnson
Douglas
Sedgwick
P— Partial
W— Whole county
Primary
TSP
P
P
Secondary
TSP Ozone CO SO.,
P W P
W
W
P
Kansas' Air Quality Progress
The data discussion that follows is not to be construed to
be an exhaustive or detailed data analysis. An effort was made
to use data from 1974 through 1988 as an indication of air quality
changes or improvements. Where monitor sites were discontinued
and/or relocated, this was not possible. If a monitor was relo-
cated in the same general area in order to provide a continuing
overview, the new location was used to provide the continuity
sought. This has introduced some data bias; however, the intent
is to merely illustrate continuing air quality changes over the
time period stated above. Where multiple monitor sites exist, a
single site somewhat representative of the overall air quality
of an area was selected. Some of the selected sites may not be
either a best- or worst-case site in an area.
Table III shows a chronological record of the redesignation
of areas in Kansas since the original areas were identified in
1978. These redesignations occurred primarily as a result of
changes in air quality. Most represent an improvement in the
status of the area.
Particulate Matter (TSP and PM10)
Figure 2 shows the variations of the annual geometric mean
concentration for TSP for selected sites in Kansas. These sites
were selected because they appear representative of air quality
and monitoring was continuous without interruption for a period
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of 14 to 15 years, and, thus, indicate a long-term trend. The
TSP site for Kansas City, Kansas, is an exception because there
are no long-term data prior to 1978 for TSP.
Table III
Redesignation of Kansas Nonattainment Areas
Redesignation
Area (County) From ; To Date
Kansas City (Wyandotte)
Topeka (Shawnee)
Part of Kansas City (Wyandotte)
Laurence (Douglas)
Part of Kansas City (Wyandotte)
Wichita (Sedgwick)
Part of Kansas City (Wyandotte)
CO Nonattainment
STSP Nonattainment
STSP Nonattainment
PTSP Nonattainment
Ox Nonattainment
CO Nonattainment
STSP Nonattainment
Attainment
Attainment
Attainment
STSP Nonattainment
Attainment
PH1Q (Group II)1
Attainment
Unclassified
1983
1985
1986
1986
1986
1987
1989
1990
PTSP—Primary TSP
STSP—Secondary TSP
After promulgating the PH1Q standard in 1987, EPA divided all areas of the country into three categories:
(1) areas with a strong likelihood of violating the standard (Group I); (2) areas where attainment of the
standards is possible (Group II); and (3) areas with a strong likelihood of attaining the standard (Group
III).
Figure 3 illustrates the second maximum 24-hour TSP values
for Concordia, Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita. The second
maximum high value is an indicator of a 24-hour standard violation
since one exceedance per year is allowed. As illustrated in Table
I, the primary 24-hour standard is 260 jug/m3 and the secondary is
150 jitg/m3.
Figure 4 shows PM10 data for Concordia, Kansas City,
Goodland, and Wichita. Three years are not adequate to establish
a trend for PM10; however, comparing PMi0 with TSP data for 1986
through 1988 suggests that a major portion of the TSP samples
are larger than the 10 micron size and, thus, are not likely
respirable. None of the PM10 samples exceed the 24-hour or
annual mean values.
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Kansas City and Wichita are the two major metropolitan areas
in Kansas. Wichita has reported CO exceedances and violations
through 1986 but there have been no violations since then.
Since neither area has significant stationary CO sources, the
CO concentrations measured appear due to mobile sources, i.e.,
automobiles, trucks, etc. Wichita operated a special purpose
monitor for CO at the intersection of Douglas and Main Streets
from 1982 through 1988. The results of that monitor are included
in Figure 5. No 1-hour exceedances have been recorded in any
Kansas location.
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Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
Except for exceedances of the 24-hour standard in the early
1970s, there have been no reported exceedances of the long- or
short-term SO2 standards. This fact may partly be dues to the
widespread use of natural gas and fuel oil in most areas of the
state. However, efforts are underway by the state and EPA to
evaluate attainment in the Kansas City area.
Ozone
The two major metropolitan areas (Kansas City and Wichita)
measured ozone standard exceedances in the early and mid-1970s.
Few exceedances have been measured in Kansas City, Kansas, during
the 1980s; however, ozone exceedances have been measured in the
Missouri portion of the interstate region, and the two Kansas
counties are major contributors of precursor emissions. Figure 6
shows measured second maximum 1-hour ozone concentrations for
Kansas City and Wichita.
Nitrogen Oxides
The NAAQS for nitrogen oxides (NOX) is 0.053 ppm (100 /Ltg/m3)
annual arithmetic mean and is both the primary and secondary
standard. Nitrogen oxides measurements began reporting in 1974
at numerous locations in Kansas, including Kansas City, Topeka,
and Wichita. The measured concentrations found in Kansas are
so far below the national standard that EPA authorized the state
to discontinue NOX measurements except in the Kansas City area.
NOX concentrations generally contribute to ozone formation in
the presence of VOC and sunlight. Concentrations found in
Kansas City are less than half the national standard.
Lead
EPA promulgated the NAAQS for lead on October 5, 1978.
The lead standard is 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter (/u.g/m3) and
is both the primary and secondary standard. EPA approved the
Kansas lead SIP on October 22, 1981. All areas in which lead is
monitored show lead concentrations are less than the national
standard. Figures 7 and 8 show the quarterly averages for
Kansas City and Wichita for the most recent five calendar years.
Summary
With regard to particulate matter concentrations, the
most significant reductions in Kansas appear in Kansas City.
Comparing PM10 values with TSP measurements over the same time
period suggests that most TSP is composed of particles greater
than 10 microns in diameter. Many areas would have remained
nonattainment for the secondary TSP standard; however, PM-^g
measurements show those same areas do not exceed the new PM10
standard.
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Figure 2 suggests some reductions of the TSP annual mean
following the Clean Air Act amendments of 1977. Figure 3 shows
significant reductions in the 24-hour concentrations in Topeka
and Kansas City, even though they and others show exceedances
of the secondary TSP standard. Figure 4 shows no exceedances of
the PM10 standard.
Wichita and Kansas City are the only Kansas communities
that have had significant CO measurements, but only Wichita has
exhibited violations of the standard. The federal motor vehicle
pollution control program is credited with part of the CO concen-
tration reductions. The remaining reductions are attributed to
transportation control activities instituted by the city.
Currently, Kansas City is the only area in the state that is
an ozone nonattainment area. Mobile source emissions are a major
contributing factor and there are significant VOC stationary
sources as well. Automotive emissions have largely been reduced
through the federal motor vehicle pollution control program.
Stationary sources have been controlled by state and local regu-
lations. The ozone attainment plan for the area was revised in
1986 to provide additional VOC reductions.
The Clean Air Act of 1967 provided funding to start up or
expand state air pollution control programs, but the 1970 and
1977 amendments provided the structure needed to develop strong
and effective programs. The 1977 amendments contained require-
ments for areas not attaining the NAAQS to institute more
stringent emissions controls to meet the standards, as well as
provisions intended to prevent violations in areas with air
quality equal to or better than the NAAQS. The Clean Air Act has
directly influenced activities which have benefited air quality
in Kansas.
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