REPORT FOR CONSULTATION ON THE
METROPOLITAN OMAHA
INTERSTATE AIR QUALITY CONTROL REGION
(NEBRASKA AND IOWA)
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
Public Health Service
Environmental Health Service
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REPORT FOR CONSULTATION ON THE
METROPOLITAN OMAHA
INTERSTATE AIR QUALITY CONTROL REGION
(NEBRASKA AND IOWA)
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
Public Health Service
Environmental Health Service
National Air Pollution Control Administration
March 1970
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CONTENTS
Preface. . .
. . . .
. . . . .
. . . .
Introduction
. . . .
. . . . . . . .
Evaluation of Urban Factors. .
. . . .
Geography of the Region
. . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . .
. . . .
. . . . . .
Present Population and Economic Activity
Pattern of the Region. . . . . . .
Prospective Population and
Economic Growth. . . . .
Probable Directions of Physical
Growth . . . . .
Evaluation of Technical Factors
. . . .
The Emission Inventory.
. . . . . . .
Air Quality Analysis.
. . . . .
Regional Governmental Organization
Planning Activities
. . . . . .
Air Pollution Control Activities.
Proposed Air Quality Control Region.
Discussion. . . . . . . . . . .
. . . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . .
. . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
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41
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53
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55
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PREFACE
The Clean Air Act, as amended, directs the Secretary of
Health, Education, and Welfare to designate "air quality con-
trol regions" to provide a basis for the adoption of regional
air quality standards and the implementation of those standards.
The Act stipulates that the designation of a region shall be
preceded by consultation with appropriate State and local
authorities.
This report is intended to provide the basic
background information needed for the consultation.
It pro-
poses boundaries for the Metropolitan Omaha Interstate Air
Quality Control Region and discusses the factors which are the
basis of the proposed boundaries.
The Region* boundaries proposed in this report remain
subject to revisions suggested during consultation with State
and local authorities.
Formal designation of the Region will
be made only after a careful review of all opinions and sugges-
tions submitted during the consultation process.
The National Air Pollution Control Administration appre-
ciates assistance received from the States of Nebraska and Iowa,
and the local governments and planning agencies in the area.
*For the purposes of this report, the word "region," when
capitalized, will refer to the Metropolitan Omaha Interstate
Air Quality Control Region.
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INTRODUCTION
THE REGIONAL APPROACH
Air pollution in the urban areas of the United States is
a regional problem which frequently extends across governmental
boundaries.
Since air pollution problems are rarely confined to
any single municipality or county, and are often not confined
within a single State, successful control requires coordinated
planning, standard setting, and enforcement by the several
political jurisdictions which share a common problem.
To date,
State and local governments across the Nation have only begun to
develop a regional approach to air pollution control.
The Clean Air Act, as amended, . provides a regional approach
which depends upon coordination and cooperation among all levels
of government--municipal, county, State, and Federal.
To set in
motion the machinery for regional air pollution control, the
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare designates air
quality control regions (following consultation with State and
local officials), issues air quality criteria, and publishes
reports on control techniques.
The designation of region bound-
aries indicates which State and local jurisdictions will be
involved in a regional air pollution control effort.
The air
quality criteria indicate the extent to which various concentra-
tions of air pollutants are harmful to health and damaging to
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property.
The reports on control techniques provide informa-
tion on the costs and effectiveness of various techniques for
controlling air pollutant emissions.
After the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
completes these initial steps, State governments develop air
quality standards and plans for implementation of such standards
within the boundaries of designated air quality control regions.
An air quality standard for a region defines the desired limit
of concentration of a pollutant in .its ambient air.
It repre-
sents the level of air quality which the regional control pro-
gram will attempt to achieve.
An implementation plan is a b1ue-
print of the steps which will be taken to attain chosen regional
air quality standards within a reasonable time.
The Clean Air
Act requires that within 90 days after the Secretary of Health,
Education, and Welfare has designated the region, State Governors
must submit letters indicating that they intend to set air quality
standards for those pollutants for which criteria and control
technology documents have been issued.
They have an additional
180 days to set the standards.
The procedure for setting stan-
dards includes a public hearing which allows residents of a
region to express their views concerning the proposed standards.
The Governors are required to submit to the Secretary, within an
additional 180 days, plans for the implementation of the standards
which have been adopted.
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The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare reviews
air quality standards and implementation plans in order to
ascertain their consistency with the provisions of the Act.
When air quality standards and implementation plans are
approved, States proceed to prevent and control air pollution
in accordance with those standards and plans.
This system for
establishing a regional approach to air pollution control is
outlined in Figure 1.
DESIGNATION OF AIR QUALITY CONTROL REGIONS
Designation of an air quality control region is one of
the first steps in the regional approach to air pollution con-
trol.
Section 107 (a) (2) of the Clean Air Act, as amended,
directs the Secretary, Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare to make such designations.
The portions of the section
relevant to this discussion state:
"...The Secretary, after consultation with appropriate
State and local authorities shall...designate air
quality control regions based on jurisdictional bound-
aries, urban-industrial concentrations, and other
factors including atmospheric areas necessary to pro-
vide adequate implementation of air quality standards.
The Secretary may...revise the designation of such
regions...The Secretary shall immediately notify the
Governor or Governors of the affected State or States
of such designation."
Procedure for Designation of Regions
Figure 2 illustrates the procedures used by the National
Air Pollution Control Administration (NAPCA) for designating
air quality control regions.
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HEW DESIGNATES
AIR QUALITY
CONTROL REGIONS.
HEW DEVELOPS AND
PUBLISHES AIR
QUALITY CRITERIA
BASED ON SCIENTIFIC
EVIDENCE OF AIR
POLLUTION EFFECTS.
HEW PREPARES
AND PUBLISHES
REPORTS ON
AVAILABLE CONTROL
TECHNIQUES
STATES INDICATE
THEIR INTENT
TO SET STANDARDS. (PUBLIC
HEARINGS)
STATES SET
AI R QUALITY
STANDARDS
FOR THE AIR
QUALITY CONTROL
REGIONS.
STATES SUBMIT
STANDARDS FOR
HEW REVIEW.
STATES ESTABLISH
COMPREHENSIVE PLANS
FOR IMPLEMENTING
AIR QUALITY
STANDARDS.
STATES SUBMIT
IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
FOR HEW REVIEW.
STATES AC"r-tO CONTROL
AIR POLLUTION IN ACCORDANCE
WITH AIR QUALITY STANDARDS
AND PLANS FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
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ENGINEERtNG EVALUATION
. EMISSIONS INVENTORY
. TOPOGRAPHY
. METEOROLOGY
. AIR QUALITY ANALYSIS
EXISTING AIR QUALITY DATA
DIFFUSION MODEL OUTPUT
~ ..
PRELIMINARY CONSULTATION FORMAL
... WITH STATE AND ... DESIGNATION BY
DELINEATION ....
OF REGIONS ~ LOCAL OFFICIALS SECR ET ARY-H EW
URBAN FACTORS EVALUATION
~ ~
. JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES
. URBAN-INDUSTRIAL CONCENTRATIONS
. COOPERATIVE REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
. PATTERNS AND RATES OF GROWTH
. EXISTING STATE AND LOCAL AIR POLLUTION
CONTROL PROGRAMS & LEGISLATION
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After evaluating relevant technical and urban factors in
a region, the National Air Pollution Control Administration
publishes a proposed delineation of its boundaries.
At the
same time, NAPCA sets a time and place for a consultation meet-
ing and distributes to State and local authorities a report of
the evaluation study (such as this "Report for Consultation")
which includes the boundary proposal.
At the consultation
meeting State and local authorities are encouraged to present
fully their views and suggestions concerning the proposed
boundaries of the region.
Interested parties who do not have
official status may submit comments in written form for the
record.
After careful review of all suggestions and opinions
submitted for the record by interested parties, the Secretary
of Health, Education, and Welfare makes a formal designation
of the region boundaries and notifies the Governor(s) of the
State(s) affected by the designation.
The Size of a Region
As stipulated in Section 107 (a) (2), the designation of
air quality control regions should be based on "jurisdictional
boundaries, urban-industrial concentrations, and other factors
including atmospheric areas necessary to provide adequate
implementation of air quality standards."
This language sug-
gests a number of objectives which are important in determining
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how large an air quality control region should be.
Basically,
these objectives can be divided into three separate categories.
First, a region should be self-contained with respect to
air pollution sources and receptors.
Unfortunately, since air
pollutants can travel long distances, it is impractical if not
impossible to delineate regions which are completely self-
contained.
The air over a region will usually have at least
trace amounts of pollutants from external sources.
During
episodic conditions, such contributions from external sources
may even reach significant levels.
Conversely, air pollution
generated within a region and transported out of it can affect
external receptors to some degree.
It would be impractical
and inefficient to make all air quality control regions large
enough to encompass these low-level trace effects.
The geo-
graphic extent of trace effects overestimates the true problem
area which should be the focus of air pollution control efforts.
Thus, the first objective, that a region be self-contained,
becomes a question of relative magnitude and frequency.
The
dividing line between "important influence" and "trace effect"
will be a matter of judgment. The judgment should be based on
estimates of the impact a source has upon a region, and the
level of pollution to which receptors are subjected.
In thts
respect, annual and seasonal data on pollutant emissions and
ambient air concentrations are a better measure of relative
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influence than short term data on episodic conditions.
In
summary, a region should include most of the important sources
in the area as well as most of the people and property affected
by those sources.
The second general objective requires that regional bound-
aries be designed to meet not only present conditions -but also
future conditions.
In other words, the region should include
areas where industrial and residential expansion are likely to
create air pollution problems in the foreseeable future.
This
objective requires careful consideration of existing metropolitan
development plans, expected population growth, and projected
industrial expansion.
Such considerations should result in the
designation of regions which will contain the sources and recep-
tors of regional air pollution for a number of years to come.
Of course, regional boundaries need not be permanently fixed,
once designated.
Boundaries should be reviewed periodically
and altered when changing conditions warrant readjustment.
The third objective is that regional boundaries should be
compatible with and even foster unified and cooperative govern-
mental administration of the air resource throughout the region.
Because air pollution usually extends across governmental bound-
aries, the cooperation of several governmental bodies is required
for the solution of a common set of air pollution problems.
In this regard, the established patterns of governmental coopera-
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ti.on on a range of urban problems is an important consideration,
and the pattern of cooperation among existing air pollution con-
trol programs is a particularly relevant factor.
In general,
administrative considerations would argue against the division
of governmental jurisdictions.
Although it would be impractical
to preserve State jurisdictions undivided, usually it is possible
to preserve the unity of county governments by including or
excluding them in their entirety.
Occasionally, even this would
be impractical due to a county's large size, wide variation in
level of development, or striking topographical features.
To the extent that any two of the above three objectives
lead to incompatible conclusions concerning region boundaries,
the region must represent a reasonable compromise.
A region
should represent the best way of satisfying the three objec-
tives simultaneously.
As noted above, the evaluations of relevant technical,
urban, and governmental factors form the basis of the boundary
proposals published by NAPCA.
The technical factors study
takes account of the location of pollution sources and the
geographic extent of serious pollutant concentrations in the
ambient air.
Pollution sources are identified through an inven-
tory of emissions from power generation, industrial operations,
space heating, waste disposal, and other pollution-causing
activities.
The transport and distribution of pollutants in the
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ambient air are analyzed on the basis of measured air quality
data, the location of emissions, meteorological data, and
topographic information.
A mathematical diffusion model which
predicts ambient pollution concentrations from information on
emissions and meteorology can be used in areas where irregular
topographical features would not invalidate the theoretical
model.
As a whole, the technical factors study indicates how
large the air quality control region should be in order to
encompass most pollution sources and most people and property
affected by those sources.
The study of urban factors takes account of a different
set of considerations.
It discusses the location of urban and
industrial concentrations and expected patterns of urban growth.
As a whole, the urban factors study indicates how large a region
should be in order to encompass expected regional growth.
The evaluation of the regional governmental organizations
discusses the planning agencies, councils of government, and
state and local air pollution control programs.
This study
attempts to define the combination of counties which, through
cooperative regional arrangements, would best work together
towards achieving clean air in the region.
The body of this report contains a proposal for the bound-
aries of the ,Metropolitan Omaha Interstate Air Quality Control
Region, following evaluarion of technical, urban, and govern-
mental factors.
The report is intended to serve as the back-
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ground document for the formal Consultation between the National
Air Pollution Control Administration and the appropriate State
and local authorities.
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EVALUATION OF URBAN FACTORS
Factors of major importance in considering boundaries for
an air quality control region are those which have to do with
the size, shape, nature, and dynamics of urbanization within
the region.
It is the concentration of population and work in
urban centers that creates many sources of air pollution and
exposes large numbers of people and valuable property to their
effects.
In this discussion of the Metropolitan Omaha area, the
~ ~-
geography of the region is reviewed since its locational and
physical characteristics can affect both the scale and direction
of urban growth.
Also considered are the area's population and
economic activity patterns, both at present and as they appear
likely to be in the future.
Future growth and its implications
for the physical configuration of the"urban area are of parti-
cular importance in determining the size of the air quality
control region.
GEOGRAPHY OF THE REGION
The Metropolitan Omaha Study Area is defined for the pur-
poses of this report as the Omaha Standard Metropolitan Statis-
tical Area (SMSA) counties--Douglas and {~aEPY Counties in
Nebraska, and Pottawattamie County in Iowa--and five adjacent
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2
counties--Cass, Dodge, Saunders, and Washington in Nebraska and
Mills in Iowa (Figure 3).
This area lies east and west of the Missouri River which
forms the boundary between the States of Nebraska and Iowa.
At this location, the River is about 965 feet above sea level.
The terrain extending west into Nebraska and east into Iowa is
gently rolling with maximum elevations of about 1,300 feet above
sea level in westernmost Dodge and Saunders Counties, Nebraska.
Running generally southeastward toward the Missouri River,
through the Nebraska side of the area, are the drainage basins
of the Platte and its tributary, the Elkhorn.
Iowa and the eastern half of Nebraska are in the western
reaches of the Corn Belt, a region whose geographic character-
istics are responsible for making it one of the Nation's major
centers for feed grain and livestock production.
Deep, fertile
soils, ample rainfall, and favorable growing season temperatures,
combined with the region's expanses of level or gently rolling
topography, make it exceptionally well-adapted to corn and other
feed grain production.
These crops in turn provide a basis for
concentrated feed-lot production of hogs, beef cattle, and other
livestock.
Iowa today leads the Nation in the output of corn and hogs;
it is second only to Texas In cattle production and ranks high
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NEBRASKA
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FIGURE 3 - Nebraska and Iowa Counties Included in
Metropolitan Omaha Study Area
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4
in soybean output.
Nebraska is a major producer of winter wheat
and one of the leading producers of beef cattle and hogs.
Metropolitan Omaha, at the center between the two States,
has therefore had ample local resources as incentives in the
development of meat packing, food preparation, and a variety of
feed processing industries.
The area's industrial development has been further stimu-
lated by exceptional transportation advantages.
In the nine-
teenth century period of transcontinental railroad construction,
major east-west railroads were built through Omaha.
It was also
chosen as a junction for rail lines connecting the north, south-
east, and south with the mid-continent and points to the west.
The combination of rich land and good rail transportation
resulted in growth spurts in the two States during the nineteenth
century which has not been equaled in more recent times.
Nebraska's population soared from 29,000 in 1860, to about
450,000 in 1880, and to over a million in 1900.
Iowa, with an
1860 population of 675,000, increased its population to 1,625,000
in 1880, and to 2,232,000 in 1900.
Between 1900 and 1960,
Nebraska's population had expanded to only 1,411,000, and Iowa's
to 2,758,000.
Although Nebraska has natural gas and petroleum deposits
in the western part of the State, production has been declining.
N9 mineral resources of significance, except limestone, exist
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5
tn tha immediate vicinity of the Metropolitan Omaha area.
However, because of the City's accessibility by barges on the
Missouri River and its rail transportation connections with
inland points, raw materials from outside the area have pro-
vided a basis for industries in the Omaha area like lead sme1t-
ing, steel casting, and metals fabrication.
In the period following World War II, Omaha's location was
a factor in its selection as a Strategic Air Command base.
Offutt Air Force Base, established in the southern part of the
Metropolitan Omaha area, currently accounts for employment of
about 12,800 and a total population, including dependents, of
about 35,000.
PRESENT POPULATION AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY PATTERN OF REGION
Table I summarizes the most recent available population
estimates for the Metropolitan Omaha study area counties.
The
Omaha/Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency (MAPA)
estimates the 1968 population of the Omaha SMSA as 528,800,
with a major concentration of 395,800 in Douglas County,
Nebraska, a secondary concentration in Pottawattamie County,
Iowa, of 85,800, and the remainder in Sarpy County, Nebraska.
According to estimates of the Nebraska Department of Economic
Development and the U. S. Bureau of the Census, five adjoining
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6
Table I
Estimated Population of Metropolitan Omaha
Area Counties, 1968
Counties
Total
(thousands)
Omaha SMSA Counties, Total
Douglas (Nebraska)
Sarpy (Nebraska)
Pottawattamie (Iowa)
(528.8)
395.8
47.2
85.8
Adjoining Counties, Total
Cass (Nebraska)
Dodge (Nebraska)
Saunders (Nebraska)
Washington (Nebraska)
Mills (Iowa)
(94.8)
17.0
36.5
15.8
13.0
12.5
Sources:
Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA)
estimates are those of the Metropolitan Area
Planning Agency (MAPA); estimates for adjoining
Nebraska counties are those of Nebraska Depart-
ment of Economic Development; and estimate for
Mills County, Iowa, is that of the U. S. Bureau
of the Census for 1966. .
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7
counties in Nebraska and Iowa had a combined 1968 population of
94,800, over a third of whom were in Dodge County, Nebraska.
One index of the relative urbanization of any area is popu-
lation density.
If the estimated Metropolitan Omaha population
is considered in relation to total county area, the Douglas
County average density of 1,181 persons per square mile provides
a clue to its urbanization, but the relatively low density
averages for the remaining counties are not revealing measures
of the existence or non-existence of urban growth (Figure 4).
Another index of urbanization is the percentage of land in
farms.
By this measure, the Metropolitan Omaha counties are
predominantly rural, rather than urban in character.
A very
high share of their total land area was classified as farmland
in the 1964 agricultural census--ranging from 70 percent in
Douglas County to 97 percent in Dodge and Washington Counties.
But this index, too, can be deceptive since farms are increasing
in average size and farm labor force needs declining.
Many
residents of predominantly rural areas are not, therefore,
actually engaged in farm operations or farm work.
Instead,
whether they live on farms or in towns and cities providing
services to farms, many rural residents have nonfarm occupations.
This appears to be the case in the Metropolitan Omaha area
which, though predominantly rural in land classification terms,
is mainly urban in terms of the occupations of its labor force.
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FIGURE 4 - Population Per Square Mile of Metropolitan
Omaha Area Counties, 1968
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9
In 1968, more than 97 percent of all employment inothe three-
county SMSA and 70 to 85 percent of employment in the adjoining
counties was in nonfarm categories (Table II).
A better idea of the extent of urbanization in an area can
be obtained by examining maps of actual residential densities
and locations of population clusters.
Figure 5,. prepared by MAPA, shows the present residential
concentrations in the contiguous area of Omaha-Council Bluffs.
The black areas, representing higher densities, are allan the
west bank of the River, generally in the center of the City, but
also in scattered locations north and south.
One significant
high density ~oncentration is in the extreme southern part of
the present metropolitan area, adjacent to the city of Bel1evue
and the Offutt Air Force Base.
Medium density areas on both
the west bank of the River in Omaha and on the east bank in
Council Bluffs constitute a rough oblong ring around the prin-
cipa1 high density concentrations.
Beyond the medium density
areas, low residential densities extend in all directions.
The most marked extensions are, however, to the west and north-
west of the Omaha portion of the Metropolitan Area within
Douglas County.
Figure 6 shows in lesser detail the approximate locations
and sizes of urban population clusters outside the present con-
tiguous Metropolitan Omaha area.
Of these, it should be noted
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10
Table II
Total Land Area, Percent of Area in Farms, and Percent,
Non-farm Employment, Metropolitan Omaha Area Counties
Total Percent, Percent,
Land Area in Non-farm
Area Farms Employment,
Counties (Sq. Mi.) 1964 1968
Omaha SMSA Counties:
Douglas (Neb.) 335 70.0)
Sarpy (Neb.) 239 86.4) 97.3
Pottawattamie (Iowa) 963 91.6)
Adjoining Counties:
Cass (Neb.) 557 95.4 74.6
Dodge (Neb.) 528 97.0 87.8
Saunders (Neb.) 759 95.8 70.9
Washington (Neb.) 386 97.4 74.8
Mills (Iowa) 447 93.9 NA
Sources:
Land area data from U. S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of the Census, County and City Data Book,
1967; non-farm employment percentages derived
from data provided by Nebraska Department of Labor,
Division of Employment. Non-farm employment for
Mills County not available.
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WA5HI~GTON COUNTY' "do
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Council
Bluffs
Glenwood
. 4 t 800
CASS
miles
1----- -- ------
o
.
5
10
15 20
.
IOWA
-NEBRASKA
FIGURE 6 - Population of Towns and Cities in Outlying
Locations of Metropolitan Omaha Areat 1969
Source:
Population estimates are those of Rand McNally Corporation.
-------
13
that the City of Fremont in the southeast corner of Dodge County
where it adjoins Douglas County has an estimated present popula-
tion of 22,600.
The broad pattern of present economic activity in the three-
county SMSA and four adjoining counties is shown in the summary
analysis of employment in Table III.
(Similar data are not avail-
able for Mills, the fifth study area county adjoining the SMSA).
Exeept for agriculture, the SMSA accounts for the bulk of the
economic activity of the area.
However, in terms of employment,
Dodge County is of significantly greater importance than the
other counties adjoining the SMSA.
The distribution of SMSA activity among the broad sectors
of employment (Figure 7) indicates that Omaha is primarily a
regional center in which trade, transportation, finance, and other
services are of dominant importance.
This characteristic of the
economy is also evident in the analysis of personal income shown
in Table IV which compares personal income estimates for 1959 and 1967.
The table also reveals a number of structural shifts in the
economy between 1959 and 1967.
Property income became a more signi-
ficant source of total income at the expense of all sources of
earned income.
Farm income declines and nonfarm sources rose
correspondingly.
However, within the nonfarm income total, there
was a marked rise in the shares of the Federal military, state and
local government, and services, and a substantial decline in the
share of manufacturing.
The shares of construction; transportation,
communication,
and public utilities; trade; and finance also declined.
-------
14
Table III
Employment in Metropolitan Omaha Area Counties, 1968
(Number of Employees)
Omaha
SMSA
Counties Cass Dodge Saunders Washington
Total Employment 216,800 4,220 13,230 4,400 4,640
Agriculture 5,800 1,070 1,610 1,280 1,170
Manufacturing 37,900 300 3,010 240 610
Wholesale and
Retail Trade 48,900 760 2,810 750 660
Government 27,900 580 1,480 700 470
Transportation and
Public Utili ties 20,900 130 540 100 200
Finance, Insurance,
and Real Estate 15,600 70 310 100 70
All Other Nonagri-
cultural employment 59,800 1,310 3,470 1,230 1,460
Source:
Nebraska Department of Labor, Division of Employment.
Notes:
"SMSA" Counties are Douglas and Sarpy in Nebraska
and Pottawattamie in Iowa. Data are not available
for Mills County, Iowa.
-------
Agriculture
Manufacturing
Wholesale and Retail Trade
Goyernment
Transportation and Public Utilities
Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate
All Other Nonagricultural
Employment
2.7
17.5
22.6
12.9
9.6
7.2
27.6
Percent of Total
Employment
.............
,~............
:.............,
............=
............
............
'........... .Ii
............~,
.............
...........-
,-.......-.-.
,-...._....-8\
,-. -...!... -.,
f/~/~~//j/~~
V//////////),
\///////////,<
y//////////),
///////////),
'///////////),
It~'~}t~\i~(w!i
. ~ . .-. . .-~
'. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
.. . . . . . ..j
. . . . - -
, , I
I
~
i
I
,
FIGURE 7 - Distribution of Omaha SMSA Employment, 1968
Source of data:
Nebraska Department of Labor Division
of Employment.
15
-------
16
Table IV
Sources of rersona1 Income in the Omaha Standard
Metropolitan Area,* 1959 and 1967
(Percent of total personal income)
1959 1967
Total Personal Income 100.0 100.0
Property Income 11. 7 14.5
Transfer Payments Less Personal Contri-
but ions for Social Insurance 3.5 3.3
Total Earnings 84.8 82.2
Farm Earnings 2.4 1.8
Total Nonfarm Earnings 82.4 80.4
Government Earnings 11.3 13.4
Total Federal 6.8 8.1
Federal Civilian 3.6 3.3
Military 3.3 4.8
State and Local 4.5 5.3
Private Nonfarm Earnings 71.1 67.1
Manufacturing 18.9 16.5
Mining .2 .1
Contract Construction 6.7 6.0
Transportation, Communication
and Public Utilities 11. 3 9.8
Wholesale and Retail Trade 16.5 15.7
Finance, Insurance, and
Real Estate 7.2 6.6
Services 10.2 12.1
Other .2 .2
Source:
Unpublished analysis obtained from the U. S.
Department of Commerce.
* Douglas and Sarpy Counties, Nebraska, and
Pottawattamie County, Iowa.
-------
17
Manufacturing, which accounted for 17.5 percent of SMSA
employment in 1968 and 16.5 percent of its personal income in
1967, is dominated by meat packing and the food products industry
generally.
,
According to the Nebraska Manufacturers' Directory
for 1968-69, there are 19 meat packing plants in Omaha, including
two employing over 1,000 workers.
Among plants engaged in other
branches of food processing, there are a large cereals plant and
a soup manufacturing plant in the employment categories of over
500 and over 1,000 workers, respectively.
Three heavy industry groups--primary metals, metal fabrica-
ting, and machinery--together now account for a higher proportion
of manufacturing employment than the food products group.
Among
the important plants are a steel foundry; three lead smelters;
three aluminum casting establishments; a metal can manufacturer;
a computer components plant; a truck trailer manufacturer; a
manufacturer of pumps; and a manufacturer of telephone cable and
switching equipment.
The chemicals industry in Omaha is not large, but it is
represented by three major national companies in the manufacture
of ammonia, fertilizers, and pesticides.
The significant small manufacturing center in Fremont (Dodge
County) is engaged mainly in the food products and feed prepara-
tion industries.
Two food products plants employ over 500
workers; there are nine feed preparation establishments of which
-------
18
three are alfalfa dehydrating and pelletizing plants.
Also,
however, there are two ammonia fertilizer plants, a gray iron
castings foundry, and a large woolen apparel manufacturer.
No similar clusters of manufacturing exist at other loca-
tions in the study area.
However, in Cass County, there is a
large portland cement plant in operation near the County's
northern border with Sarpy County and a number of lime and 1ime-
stone plants in Weeping Water, a small town in the center of the
County.
PROSPECTIVE POPULATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
MAPA's estimate of 1968 population in the Omaha SMSA of
528,750 reflects an average annual growth rate of 1.8 percent
since 1960 when the U. S. Census total for the area was 457,873.
In the period ahead, MAPA foresees a moderation in SMSA growth
to annual rates of between 1.4 and 1.6 percent.
At these rates
of increase, SMSA population in 1995, the MAPA target year for
planning purposes, would range between 747,000 and 797,000,
roughly 50 percent larger than in 1968.
The MAPA future annual growth rate estimates are similar
to that of the National Planning Association, Washington,
1/
D.C., - 1.6 percent for the period 1966-80, and to those of
~/
National Planning Association, Economic and Demographic
Projections for States and Metropolitan Areas, Regional
Economic Projections Series, Report No. 68-R-l, January,
1969.
-------
19
the U. S. Census Bureau, which range between 1.3 - 1.7 percent
for the period 1965-75. ~/
The actual population growth in the years ahead will
depend in large part on the area's economic growth since in-
migration responding to the pull of job opportunities accounts
for a major share of population increases in the most rapidly
growing urban areas.
Recent economic expansion, as measured by personal income
gains, has been somewhat slower in the Omaha SMSA than in all
U. S. metropolitan areas of the United States (Table V), and
part of the growth was due to an unusual expansion in Federal
military payrolls.
In the future, the area's demonstrated
capacity to shift its manufacturing base away from meat packing
and other traditional food and feed industries toward a diver-
sified range of the more rapidly growing industries, may
accelerate growth.
The financial advantages extended to cor-
porations by the State of Nebraska's industrial revenue bond
law could assist in the process.
The area's natural gas and
oil fields, though declining in total output, could provide raw
materials for expansion of the local chemicals industry.
A prospective 50 percent addition to local electric power supply
provides another essential ingredient for industrial expansion.
~
U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census,
Projections of the Population of Metropolitan Areas - 1975,
Series P-25, No. 415, January 31, 1969.
-------
Table V
N
o
Growth in Personal Income and Per Capita Personal
Income, Omaha SMSA Area,* and All Metropolitan
Areas of the United States, 1959-67
Personal Income
1959 1967 Percent
(millions of (millions of Increase,
dollars) dollars) 1959-67
All U.S. Metropolitan
Areas 290,062 473,246 63.2
Omaha SMSA 1,084 1,751 61.5
Nebraska 2,760 4,424 60.3
Iowa 5,319 8,442 58.7
Per Capita Personal Income
1959 1967
(dollars) (dollars)
Percent
Increase,
1959...67
2,448 3 ,511 43.4
2,358 3,349 42.0
1,976 3,066 55.2
1,949 3,045 56.2
Source:
U.S. Department of Commerce, "Metropolitan Area Income in 1967," Survey of Current Business,
May, 1969, Part I, pp. 13 - 33, and "Total and Per Capita Income by Regions and States,"
Survey of Current Business, August, 1969, pp. 13 - 24.
* Douglas and Sarpy Counties, Nebraska, and Pottawattamie County, Iowa.
-------
21
In 1971, a 455-megawatt nuclear power plant is scheduled to go
3/
on stream in Fort Calhoun in Washington County. - A negative
factor in the economic outlook is the vulnerability of the
military portion of present Federal Government employment in
the SMSA.
Data are inadequate for assessing prospective population
and economic growth of counties adjoining the Omaha SMSA.
PROBABLE DIRECTIONS OF PHYSICAL GROWTH
To accommodate 50 percent more people in the Omaha SMSA
by 1995, MAPA foresees intensification of in~ustrial and com-
mercial development in spokes radiating outward from the center
of Omaha but confined well within the three counties of the
SMSA.
Between and beyond these spokes would be low density
residential areas, typical now of outlying sections of the City,
which would cover most of Douglas County and extending farther
than at present into Sarpy and Pottawattamie Counties (Figure 8).
In support of this plan, MAPA recommends a highway network of
concentric beltways which would utilize the framework of existing
and planned road construction in the SMSA (Figure 9).
y
Unpublished data furnished by Federal Power Commission,
Washington, D. C.
-------
G
t-..)
t-..)
DOUGLAS
MILLS COUN1
FIGURE 8
Source:
- Omaha SMSA Planned Urban Development by 1995
Omaha/Council Bluffs Metropolitan Planning
Agency.
-------
.
..
New Roads
Existing Roads
-- ---'
-------
,
I
ELKHORN
Dod e
'"
I
Cf)
P
GRETNA
,
\
\
"
\,
"
,
,
\
,
,
,
I
___I
MINEOLA
1-680
.
.
".
1-480
,
.
,
,
.
'--..-.~
...
...
~
1-680
o !~1
HA
a
00
""
I
H
C 0 U N elL
BLUFFS
.
.
,
/
.
.j.J
CI)
"d
t::
N
'"
,
.
I
\
- - -.....",... - - - """"""
.
)
",.-.."
,
,
,
N-370
(
,
...
.
BELLEYUE \
FIGURE 9 - Proposed Highway Network in Metropolitan Omaha Area
Source:
Omaha/Council Bluffs Metropolitan Planning Agency.
t-.)
t..J
-------
24
If Omaha's urban area extends outward in Douglas County as
shown in Figure 8, its residential areas will approach the
County's boundaries on the northwest and north.
In the case of
the development northwest to Dodge County, Omaha's residential
areas will be moving in the direction of the manufacturing
center of Fremont.
Fremont's location in Dodge County is a
mere seven miles from the Dodge-Douglas County border.
-------
25
EVALUATION OF TECHNICAL PACTORS
The technical factors of importance in considering the
boundaries of an air quality region are the following:
the
total quantity of pollutants emitted, the geographic pattern of
emission sources, and pattern of pollutant dispersion.
In the Omaha study region, information with respect to
these factors was obtained from an emission inventory conducted
by the National Air Pollution Control Administration (NAPCA),
air quality data from the Omaha-Douglas County Health Department,
and a theoretical diffusion model developed from the inventory
data.
THE EMISSION INVENTORY
The emission inventory, based on 1968 data, included esti-
mates from the three-county Standard Metropolitan Statistical
Area (SMSA) of Douglas (Omaha) and Sarpy Counties in Nebraska
and Pottawattamie (Council Bluffs) County in Iowa, as well as
from the adjoining counties of Cass, Dodge, Saunders, and Wash-
ington in Nebraska and Mills County, Iowa.
The NAPCA emission inventory is available as a separate
publication. if Significant findings are summarized here.
~
Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Air Pollutant Emission
Inventory. Division of Air Quality and Emission Data, National
Air Pollution Control Administration, Environmental Health
Service, Public Health Service, U. S. Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare, Durham, North Carolina, 1970. .
-------
26
The quantity of emissions in the study area was estimated
individually for point sources and areawide for other sources by
5/
use of a survey technique developed by the Public Health Service.-
Major point sources included electric power generating plants,
large industrial plants, major solid waste disposal sites, and
airports.
Area sources included transportation, residential
space heating, smaller industrial plants, and generalized solid
waste burning.
Emission estimates were derived by applying average emission
factors to indicators of pollutant emissions such as production
6/
data or type of fuel burned. - Because these are average
factors, estimates from a particular source may vary from actual
emissions to the extent that its operating characteristics vary
from the average.
Estimates. of a large number of sources are
likely to approğimate actual conditions, however, since their
characteristics as a group will average out.
Five types of pollutants were inventoried:
sulfur oxides,
particulate matter, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and oxides of
nitrogen.
These pollutant types were estimated for five cate-
gories of sources:
transportation, stationary fuel combustion,
~j
Public Health Service, Rapid Survey Technique for Estimating
Community Air Pollution Emissions. Publication No. 999-AP-29,
Environmental Health Series, U.S.D.H.E.W., Division of Air
Pollution, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1966.
~/
Public Health Service, Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission
Factors. Publication No. 999-AP-42, Environmental Health
Series, U.S.D.H.E.W., NAPCA, Durham, North Carolina.
-------
27
solid waste disposal, industrial process losses, and evaporation
losses.
The five pollutants and their sources are graphically
represented in Figure 10, 11, and 11 continued.
These figures
show that:
1.
Sulfur oxides (57,300 tons per year) are emitted
principally from fuel combustion (64 percent) and
industrial process losses (32 percent).
2.
Particulate matter (31,030 tons per year) is emitted
from all source categories, with industrial process
losses constituting over 60 percent.
3.
Carbon monoxide (298,000 tons per year) is principally
and characteristically a road vehicle problem (88
percent).
4.
Hydrocarbons (53,700 tons per year) also relate
closely to road vehicles.
Tail pipe emissions
produce 41 percent, and most of the 39 percent from
evaporation losses can be attributed either to the
vehicle itself or to the handling and storage of
motor fuel.
5.
Oxides of nitrogen (39,300 tons per year) are produced
both by road vehicles (44 percent) and stationary fuel
combustion (39 percent--the five steam electric gener-
ating plants produce 27 percent of this total, accord-
ing to the NAPCA inventory).
-------
28
Carbon
Monoxide
298~OOO
Road
Vehicles
Other
Sulfur
Oxides
57 ,300
Fuel
Combustion
Industrial
Process
Losses
Other
Hydro- Nitrogen
carbons Oxides
53,700 39,300
Road ,
Vehicles
*Evaporation
Losses
Other
Partic-
ulates
31,030
Road 'Industrial
Vehicles Process Losses
Fuel Refuse Disposal
Combustion Other
Other
*Inc1udes road vehicles,
storage and handling of
gasoline.
FIGURE 10 - Air Pollutant Emissions in the Omaha-Council Bluffs
Study Area, 1968 (tons per year)
-------
29
I NCLUDI NG ROAD VEHI ClIS
EXCLUDING ROAD VEHIClIS
SULFUR Ox IDES
TOTAL PARTICULATES
Fuel
Combustion
8%
FueI
Combustion
6%
FIGURE 11 - Estimated Distribution of Emissions by Source,
Inclusive and Exclusive of Road Vehicles,
Omaha-Council Bluffs Study Area, 1968
-------
30
INCWDIN:J ROAD VEHICI£S
CARBON MnNOXIDE
Refus
Disposal
7% '
. Ind us trial
Process Losses
4%
HYDROCARBONS
EXCWDI~13 ROAD VB~ICl£S
Industrial
Process Losses
11.5%
Fuel
Combustion
0.5%
Other
Vehicles
12%
OxIDES OF NITROGEN
FIGURE 11 (continued)
Refuse
Disposal
12%
- Estimated Distribution of Emissions
by Source, Inclusive and Exclusive
of Road Vehicles, Omaha-Council Bluffs
Study Area, 1968
-------
31
To determine the geographic distribution of these emis-
sions, the study area was divided into grid zones (Figure 12),
and the estimated point and area source emissions apportioned
to their respective grid zones.
Principal point sources are
shown in Figure 13.
The density variations among the grid zones
are shown in Figures 14-a, l4-b, l4-c, l4-d, and l4-e.
Emissions by county and source are detailed in Table VI.
This table shows that Douglas County, Nebraska, and Pottawatamie
County, Iowa, contribute most of the pollutants.
This would be
expected as these counties have the highest degree of urbaniza-
tion in the study area.
The percentage contribution of each county to total air
pollution emission is shown in Table VII.
The outstanding exception to the relationship between
pollutant emissions and extent of urbanization is the 22 percent
of particulates originating in Cass County, Nebraska, with less
than 3 percent of the total population.
A large cement plant in
the county accounts for this.
In evaluating these data, patterns of fuel consumption are
important.
All three of the major fuels (coal, oil, and natural
gas) are used, with gas the most important.
Gas and distillate
fuel oil are the principal fuels for space heating; residual
fuel oil is used by one power plant and some industrial consumers;
coal is used in power plants when the gas supply is interrupted.
-------
32
464000051
51
4540000
110000
~~._.-._._. ~_._._.-._.
r.-.-.-.- -.~._. 8'
i !
462000047; 48 49, .-.-.-.
, I
" l
DODGE -.
i I
, i
! ~
46000003 '
14
SA NDERS
37
-j
i
i
i
i
38 ,
I
i
i
i
.-...,.-.-.- -...
POTTAWA TAMIE
6
7
11
31 0000
190000
..-..-..-....
,
I
i
, I
I
i
i
i
t -.-.-
MILLS
NEBRASKA
!
. .-.-.-.-.-. ..-.1
IOWA
.-.-.-.-. .-.-
..
210000
230000
250000
270000
290000
q
~ 1,0
mil..
15
.
!
FIGURE 12 - Omaha-Council Bluffs Grid Coordinate System
-------
.-.-.-.-.-. .-.-.-.-.-.' .-i
i
i
i
i
4640000
4620000
r.-.-.-.- _.~._. .!
i !
I .
: I
Ii
DODGE ..
! I
. i
! .
SA NDERS
POTTAWA TAMIE
456 0000
.
I
!
!
!
I
I
i
L._._._.-..
.._.._.._.~
J
i
.
MillS
BLUFFS
NEBRASKA
4540000
17 0000
19°000
I
.
. .-.-.---.-. ..-.1
IOWA
210000
270000
290000
L...J., 1,0
..II..
o AIRPORT
II INDUSTRY
[J STEAM-ELECTRIC
o SOLID WASTE
i
15
.
33
i
i
i
i
.
.-.-.- -...
3' 000.0
FIGURE 13 - Location of Point Sources in the Omaha-Council Bluffs
Study Area, 1968
-------
4640000
4620000
4560000
4540000
170000
34
r.-.-.-.- -.-....-.-. 8!
i !
.-.-.-. .-.-.-
! i
" i
DODGE "t
i I
i i
,
,
POTTAWA TAMIE
i
!
!
I
.
I
I
i
L._._._.-..
BLUFFS
.---.-..-...
i
i
,
MILLS
NEBRASKA
190000
i
i
i
i
l -.-.-
CASS
IOWA
210000
230000
250000
270000
290000
SULFUR OXIDE EMISSIONS,
tons/mi2.dcy
o 0'- 0.01
i
LJ 0.01 - 0.05
Q ~ 10 15
. . Eill1 0.05 - 0.25
mil..
1m 0.25 - 2.50
II 2.50 - 8.00
i
i
i
!
.-.-.- -...
310000
FIGURE l4-a - Sulfur Oxide Emission Density for the Omaha-Council Bluffs
Study Area, 1968
-------
35
4640000
DODGE
POTTAWA TAMIE
._j
i
i
i
i
4620000
r.-.-.-.-
i
!
I
i
!
-.-......-.... 8!
I
.
VEil
i
i
i
4580000 .
j
I
;
.
I
i
!
I
.
L._.___.-..
SA NDERS
4560000
.-.-.- -.
3' 0000
NEBRASKA
.--..-..-...
;
;
.
MILLS
4540000
170000
19 0000
i
i
I
i
I. -.....-
CASS
I
.
..8IIII!.1
IOWA
210000
230000
250000
270000
290000
PARTICULATE EMISSIONS,
ton sl m i 2.day
o 0 - 0.01
!
LJ 0.01 - 0.10
9 10 15
. 0 0.10 - 0.50
mil..
mJ 0.50 - 1.00
'.'.
II 1.00 - 3.00
FIGURE 14~ ~ Particulate
Study Area,
Emission Density for the Omaha-Council Bluffs
1968
-------
36
4640000
4620000
r.-.-.-.- -.~._. 8'
. I
I .
!
J
i
i
.-.-.-.
DODGE
POTTAWA TAMIE
456 0000
i
!
I
.
I
.
I
!
I
.
L._._._.-..
i
i
i
i
_...;
310000
MILLS
NEBRASKA
4540000
170000
190000
i
i
i
i
I. -.-.-.-
I
.
..-..
IOWA
210000
230000
25°°00
27°000
290000
CARBON MONOXIDE EMISSIONS,
tons/mi2.doy
o 0 - 0.05
[2J 0.05 - 0.25 i
Q ~ 10 15
, El 0.25 - 1.00
mil..
Iii 1.00 - 5.00
II 5.00 - 10.00
FIGURE 14...c ~ Carbon Monoxide Emission Density for. the Omaha-Council
Bluffs Study Area, 1968
-------
37
..6.. 0000
..560000
r._._._.~ -.~._. 8!
. I
I .
I
.
i
!
i
.
DODGE
..620000
i
i
!
..580000 .
.
I
I
!
I
.
I
!
!
L._._._.-..
POTTAWA TAMIE
i
i
i
!
.-.-.- -...
310000
MILLS
NEBRA:)KA
..5.. 0000
170000
190000
I
.
..-.1
IOWA
210000
230000
250000
270000
290000
HYDROCARBON EMISSIONS,
ton s/mi 2.do:f
o 0 - 0.01
{
OJ 0.01 - 0.05
Q ~ 10 15
. EI 0.05 - 0.25
...118.
1m 0.25 - 1.00
tII 1.00 - 2.50
FIGURE l4-d - Hydrocarbon Emission Density for the Omaha Council Bluffs
Study Area, 1968
-------
i
!
i
..580000 .
i
!
!
I
.
I
I
i
.
L._.___.....
46" 0000
4620000
..560000
..5..0000
170000
38
r.-.".-.-
i
!
.
I
i
i
-.-..-.-.-- 81'
i
.
DODGE
POTTAWA TAMIE
i
i
i
i
.-. .-.....- -...
310000
NEBRASKA
..--.-..-...
i
i
.
MILLS
190000
I
.
..-.1
i
i
i
i
, ...-....
CASS
IOWA
..
270000
290000
210000
230000
250000
NITROGEN OXIDE EMISSIONS,
tons/mi2.day
o
o - 0.01
,
q
~ 1,0
..II..
ED 0.01 - 0.05
rn 0.05 - 0.25
m 0.25 - 1.00
111.00 - 2.50
15
.
FIGURE l4-e - Nitrogen Oxide Emission Density for the Omaha-Council Bluffs
Study Area, 1968
-------
Table VI
Air Pollutant Emissions in the Omaha - Council Bluffs Study Area
by Emissions Sources and by County, 1968
(tons per year)
Fuel Combustion
Indus- Institu- Residen- Power Total, Fuel Industrial Transpor- Refuse a/
County trial tiona1 tia1 Plants Combustion Process Losses tation Disposal Grand Tota1-
Cass 30 N 10 0 40 6,640 80 140 6,900
: Mills N N 30 0 30 N 40 10 80
0
1-1 Pottawattamie 50 N 70 7,180 7,300 N 340 110 7,750
;::I Sarpy N N 70 0 70 N 230 30 330
....
.-I Saunders N N 50 0 50 N 50 10 110
;::I
tI) Washington N N 30 0 30 N 30 0 60
<11 Cass N N N 0 0 N 7,270 730 8,000
"1j Dodge N N 0 0 0 0 22,200 1,160 23,800
'M
>: Douglas 10 N 30 100 140 2,500 159,560 7,800 170,000
0
J:: Mills N N N 0 0 N 6,400 550 6,950
0
::;:: Pottawattamie N N 10 20 30 N 41,230 7,640 48,900
r:: Sarpy N N N 0 0 N 23,470 2,230 25,700
0 w
.0 Saunders N N N 0 0 N 9,170 680 9,850 \0
1-1
<11 Washington N N N 0 0 N 4,240 560 4,800
u
Notes: "N", negligible; ~/, totals have been rounded.
Source: National Air Pollution Control Administration Air Pollutant Emission Inventory.
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40
Table VII
Percentage Contribution of Each County
to Total Air Pollutant Emissions
Sulfur Partic- Carbon Hydro- Nitrogen
County Oxides ulates Monoxide carbons Oxides
Cass N 22 3 2 2
Dodge <1 2 8 7 6
Douglas 85 62 57 61 64
Sarpy <1 3 9 8 6
Saunders N 1 3 3 2
Washington N 1 1 1 1
Pottawattamie 14 8 17 16 17
Mills N 1 2 2 2
Source:
National Air Pollution Control Administration
Air Pollutant Emission Inventory
Notes:
"N", negligible
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41
Coal combustion, less than 10 percent of the total energy input,
accounts for a large part of the emission from fuel combustion
in stationary sources; natural gas combustion, ~owever, accounts
for most of the stationary source emissions of oxides of nitrogen.
Additional stationary sources are solid waste disposal opera-
tions.
Solid wastes in the area are predominantly'handled by
sanitary landfills or open burning.
There are no municipal incin-
era tors.
Open burning, either on site or at dumps, contributes
significant amounts of pollution and is the subject of comment by
residents in the area.
AIR QUALITY ANALYSIS
The boundaries of an air quality control region should be
designed to include both pollution sources and people and property
affected by these sources.
The inventory identifies pollution
sources but does not provide information about people and property
affected.
The atmospheric distribution of pollutants from the
sources should be determined in order to satisfy this requirement.
The best way to do this is to review air quality sampling
data at sufficient points and over enough time to be useful.
Data supplied from the Omaha-Douglas County Health Department
has been extremely useful in this analysis, although it is
limited primarily to Omaha and the immediate surrounding area.
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42
In order to extend estimates of atmospheric districution
over the study area, a meteorological diffusion model has been
used to describe theoretical concentrations of pollutants in
the ambient air.
This model is based on a mathematical treat-
ment of pollutant emissions and meteorological factors such as
wind speed, wind direction, and mixing depths.
Although the
model has certain inherent limitations, it can be used to map
probable long term (seasonal and annual) average pollutant
dispersion patterns.
Meteorology and Climatology
The Study Area, on the Missouri River, consists of gently
rolling hills rising from a river level of 965 feet above sea
level to about 1,300 feet.
Its climate is typically continental
with warm summers and cold, dry winters.
To the east, humid
climate is found, and to the west, dry.
The area is in the path
of most "lows," or storms, that cross the country and is usually
affected by the cold, dry, winter Canadian air masses.
As a result,
the area experiences periodic and rapid weather changes.
The pre-
vailing winds are north-northwest in the winter and at about 13
miles per hour on the average, and soth-southeast in the summer,
averaging 10 miles per hour (Figure 15).
Storm winds over 40 miles
per hour are not uncommon.
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I
43
WINTER
SUMMER
ANNUAL
(Includes All Four Averaging Periods)
PERCENT FREQUENCY
o
5
10
15
FIGURE 15 - Wind Direction Percent Frequency of Occurrence
for Various Averaging Times
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44
An important factor in the dispersion ,of pollution is the
depth of the air layer through which pollutants mix (Table VIII).
Table VIII
Air Mixing Depths, Omaha-Council Bluffs Study Area
(meters)
Winter Summer Annual
MORNING 280 365 340
AFTERNOON 680 1550 1200
AVERAGE 480 960 770
The low mixing depths on winter mornings, coupled with
increases in coal consumption and residential space heating with
natural gas, can be expected to cause periodic high concentrations
of pollutants during'times of low wind speeds.
Prolonged periods
of stagnation, with low mixing depths and little wind, are rarely
seen in the study area.
Modeling Results
Contours defined by the diffusion model for sulfur oxides
and particulates are shown in Figures 16 and 17.
Note that the
diffusion of pollutants is relatively well contained within the
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45
o
I
5
miles
10 15 20
.
I
-. -_J_----- --,
POTTAWATTAMIE I
9 I
I
5 . I
3 I
I
.
I
I
- ---.-_J
.
I
I
I
NEBRASKA
IOY/A
--"----- --- ---,
~ HARRISON .
'D.
o
c:.
~
...-- -------.--,.
I DODGE L- ---
.
I
I
I
,
I
,
I
I
I
I
I
I SAUNDERS
~--------T--
I I
I I
I I
I I
. I
I I CASS
. \.------------
I I
.
I I
I I
I I
L- -- LANC~STE~ - - L - - - OTOE_-
~~L~__J
FREMONT I
I
I
,
I
I
I
f IOWA
rHSSOURI
NEBRASKA
FIGURE 16 - Theoretical Annual Average Concentrations of Sulfur Oxides.
Values in Micrograms per Cubic Meter
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46
NEBRASKA
IOYJA
-------- ------,
"3-
v..
.....
<:>
-----------'T c::
I DODGE L__- ----- ~
.
I
I
I
HARRISON
I
I
.
I
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I SAUNDERS
~--------T--
i i
I I
I I
. I
I I
. 1-------------
I I,
I
I I
I I
I I
L-__L~C~~~__L --- ~E_-
miles NEBRASKA
I
- -- -.-. -- J_----- --,
POTTAWATTAMIE I
I
I
I
I
I
.
I
.
---~--.-_J
.
I
I
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MILLS I
----- --_J
FREMONT I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I IOWA
f1ISSOURI
o
I
5
10
15 20
.
FIGURE 17 - Theoretical Annual Average Concentrations of Particulates.
Values in Micrograms per Cubic Meter
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47
urbanized areas with the single exception of a particulate con-
centration in Cass County, probably related to the operations
of a large cement plant.
Air Sampling Data
The Division of Environmental Health, Omaha-Douglas County
Health Department, maintains sampling stations in the City of
Omaha and areas of the county immediately adjoining.
Station
locations are indicated on Figure 18.
Data gathered from these
stations have been used to compile an emissions inventory for
the immediate area of Omaha-Douglas County which shows generally
higher tonnages of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen
oxides than the NAPCA inventory, and slightly lower tonnages of
sulfur oxide and particulates.
Both inventories, however,
appear to be consistent within the limits of estimation.
As
might be expected, local air quality data show greatest concen-
trations in the downtown Omaha areas and industrial areas along
the river to the south.
Typical downtown measures of suspended
particulates were in the range of 85-100 micrograms per cubic
meter.
The station at 11th and Nicholas, in a heavy industrial
area, measured 150 to 250 micrograms per cubic meter.
Dustfa1l
measured in the range of 28 - 40 tons per square mile per month
downtown, under 10 in the residential areas to the west, and in
the 30.s in the industrial areas with peak months as high as
135 tons per square mile per month.
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48
o
Douglas County
E1khorn
+-0
o
o
o
o
o
o
OMAHA
o
°0
o
o
Source:
FIGURE 18 - Location of Air Sampling Stations, Omaha, Nebraska
I
Omaha-Douglas County Health Department.
Be1levue
\
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49
Analysis of the emission inventory, the diffusion model,
and the local air sampling data indicate that pollutant concen-
trations are heaviest in the urbanized parts of the study area
with the notable exception of particulate emissions from indus-
trial operations in Cass County, thinly populated and rural.
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50
REGIONAL GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
1.
The SMSA
The study area is centered on the Omaha-Council Bluffs Stan-
dard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA), which contains most of
the population and air pollution sources.
The SMSA consists of
Douglas and Sarpy Counties, Nebraska, and Pottawattamie County,
Iowa.
Major cities are Omaha and Bellevue in Nebraska and
Council Bluffs in Iowa.
Included in the SMSA are a total of
27 incorporated cities, towns, and villages.
Offutt Air Force
Base, headquarters of the Strategic Air Command, is an important
Federal government facility in the SMSA.
2.
Planning Activities in the SMSA
The Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency
QMAPA) was established in 1968 to coordinate all planning for the
SMSA.
Policy direction for MAPA is through a Council of Elected
Officials, with members from the three counties, ten municipalities,
four school boards, and six special agencies.
MAPA is the offi-
cial review agency for Federal grant-in-aid programs.
The agency's
work plan is in three phases:
Phase I, recently submitted to the
Council of Elected Officials, outlines a Metropolitan Area Compre-
hensive Plan.
Phase II will deal with housing, and Phase III with
an economic base study.
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51
The need for a regional planning agency is stated in the
MAPA Phase I plan:
"Frequently, the growth and development of the various
communities (within the planning area) exerts overlapping
influences on economic, political, social and physical
activities of each other. This arrangement of numerous
governmental agencies has failed to achieve the coor-
dination necessary to solve metropolitan problems. As
a result of this profusion of agencies, responsible
public officials recognized the need to establish a
metropolitan area comprehensive plan to coordinate and
guide the planning efforts of many agencies."
Previous to completion of the proposed Phase I plan, MAPA
prepared (1969) a detailed analysis of solid waste disposal problems
and practices in the area.
Other SMSA agencies were responsible for
the Omaha Metropolitan Area Plan of 1960, and Pottawattamie County
Regional Plan of 1968.
In addition are the Omaha City Master Plan
(1961), the Omaha Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (1966),
and plans prepared by planning agencies in other municipalities in
the SMSA.
An indication of the complexity of. this process is shown
in Figure 19.
3.
Planning in Study Area Counties Outside the SMSA
Consideration is being given to the development of planning
policy for an "Eastern Nebraska Urban Region," involving the area
extending around an axis between the Omaha-Council Bluffs urban area
and the Lincoln urban area.
The State of Nebraska has established
planning and development regions through the State Office of Planning
and Programming.
Douglas and Sarpy Counties are in region 1, Saunders,
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111
N
FIGURE 19 ~ Interrelationships Among City and County Planning Bodies,
Metropolitan Omaha Study Area
Source:
Omaha/Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency.
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53
Cass and Otoe in region 4, and Dodge and Washington in region 5.
The
Iowa counties in the study area are included in the eight-county region
13 established by the Iowa Office of Planning and Development.
These
larger planning regional proposals have been stimulated by the need for
broader area consideration of water management, airport development,
transportation, and the like.
County-wide planning commissions exist
in Washington, Saunders, and Cass Counties, Nebraska, and in Mills
County, Iowa.
4.
Air Pollution Control Activities
Both Iowa and Nebraska have enacted air pollution control
legislation.
The Iowa Air Pollution Control Act (1967) created an Air
Pollution Control Commission within the State Department of Health.
It provides for broad State powers
and enables the establishment of
local programs.
The Nebraska Air Quality Act (1969) creates an Air Pollution
Control Council within the State Department of Health, and among other
powers, mandates the Council to designate air pollution control areas
within the State.
Like the Iowa statute, it enables the establishment
of local control programs.
The Omaha-Douglas County Department of
Health, through the Division of Environmental Health, administers the
local control programs.
The State of Iowa's current annual budget for its air pollution
control program is $100,000, consisting entirely of State funds.
One
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54
full-time engineer and part-time specialists in the State Hygienic
Laboratory assist the director of the program.
Nebraska's current
budget totals $45,000, including Federal funds of $30,000.
Assist-
ing the director of the program on a part-time basis are four
professional Health Department personnel.
The City of Omaha has enacted an air pollution control
ordinance, which at this time has not been implemented by budget or
staff.
Ordinances against open burning are generally in effect in
the study area, and Omaha-Douglas County are proceeding to enforce
these ordinances.
There are no other active air pollution control programs in
the rest of the study area.
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55
PROPOSED AIR QUALITY CONTROL REGION
Subject to the scheduled consultation, it is proposed that
consideration be given to an air quality control region in the
Metropolitan Omaha area consisting of the following counties
(Figure 20):
Douglas (Nebraska)
Sarpy (Nebraska)
Pottawattamie (Iowa)
Discussion
An air quality control region should meet three basic
'cri teria:
1.
It should encompass most pollution sources as
well as most people and property affected by
the sources.
2.
It should include those areas where industrial
and residential growth may create significant
future problems.
3.
It should be consistent with unified and coopera-
tive administration of the region's air resources.
The proposed three-county Region for the Metropolitan Omaha
area would satisfy the broad requirements of these criteria.
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L______--
i
I
,
I
56
NEBRASKA
...----------~
I I
DODGE
WASHINGTON
I
I
,
I
I
I
I
I
I SAUNDERS
L__------r--
I
I
I
I
I
I
IOWA
Y fTTY'Y rtn 1 TTT
POTTAWATTAMIE
DOUGLAS
..---"
.-
.
,
: Omaha n_..
--~~ "",.".....'
I
I
--
t---"-:'"
RPY
10
1.-------------
CASS
miles
o
.
5
15 20
.
MILLS I
----- --_J
IOWA
NEBRASKA
~IGURE 20 ~ Proposed Air Quality Control Region
I
I
I
I
I
I
,
I
I
~
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57
The discussions above of technical, urban, and governmental
factors relevant to determination of the Region's boundaries,
lead to the following principal conclusions.
1.
Pollution sources are primarily concentrated in the
Omaha-Council Bluffs area of Douglas and Pottawattamie Counties.
Most of the people and property affected by these sources are
located in these two counties and in Sarpy County.
2.
Future industrial and residential growth is expected to
proceed at a moderate pace and to be confined within the three
counties.
A proposed highway plan, if adopted, would tend to
reinforce these expectations.
Hence, pollution sources and most
people and property affected in th~future are likely to continue
to be within the three-county area.
3.
The three counties constitute the Omaha Standard Metro-
po1itan Statistical Area.
They are actively engaged in coopera-
tive coordination of all planning for the SMSA
through MAPA'and
its Council of Elected Officials.
MAPA is also the official
review agency for Federal grant-in-aid programs.
Thus, the
three counties have a basis for unified and cooperative adminis-
tration of the region's air resources.
In addition to the proposed three-county Region, considera-
tion appears warranted of possible inclusion within the Region
of Cass, Dodge, and Washington Counties in Nebraska, and Mills
County, in Iowa.
The reasons are the following:
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58
1.
In Cass County, a particulates pollutant source exists
in a sparsely settled rural area.
Thus, while many people are
not affected by the source, possible serious effects on people
who do live in the area or on their property might justify inclusion
of the County in the Region.
2.
Dodge County's established small manufacturing center
at Fremont is only seven miles north of its boundary with Douglas
County.
If urban development in Douglas proceeds vigorously i~
a northwesterly direction toward that boundary, new residential
neighborhoods would be affected by any present or future pollu-
tion sources in Fremont.
Inclusion of Dodge County in the Region
might therefore be justified to take account of future air
quality problems.
3.
Both Washington and Mills Counties have areas close to
present pollution sources in Omaha and Council Bluffs.
Although
these areas are not developed at present, they may share in the
future extension of both industrial and residential growth and
thus add to potential pollution sources as well as to the affected
population.
These might be grounds for including the two Counties
within the Region.
The final decision on the inclusion or exclusion of Cass,
Dodge, Washington, and Mills Counties will be made only after
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59
careful review of comments submitted to the Consultation record by
State and local officials.
The boundaries proposed for the Metropolitan Omaha Interstate
Air Quality Control Region in this report will serve as a starting
point for discussion with State and local officials at the scheduled
Consultation.
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