REPORT FOR CONSULTATION
ON THE
WASATCH FRONT
INTRASTATE AIR QUALITY CONTROL REGION
(UTAH)
U. S. DEB&RTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
Public Health Service
Environmental Health Service
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REPORT FOR CWSULTATIW
ON THE
WASATCH FRONT
INTRASTATE AIR QUALITY CONTROL REGION
(UTAH)
u. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
Public Health Service
Environmental Health Service
National Air Pollution Control Administration
April 1970
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PR.EFACE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Page
3
INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4
The Regional Approach.......................... 4
Designation of Air Quality Control Regions.....
7
EVALUATION OF URBAN FACTORS.......................14
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Topography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
:EInployment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Regional Activities............................24
Air Pollution Control Activities...............25
EVALUATION OF ENGINEERING FACTORS.................27
Introduction...................................27
Emissions Iuventory............................27
Topography And Meteorology.....................37
Measured Air Quality Data......................40
TIlE PR.OP()s;AL...................................... 43
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3
PREFACE
The Clean Air Act, as amended, directs the Secretary of
Health, Education, and Welfare to designate "air quality control
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 provides background material for the
consultation.
It proposes boundaries for the Wasatch Front
Intrastate Air Quality Control Region and discusses the factors
which are the basis of the boundary proposal.
The Region* boundaries proposed in this report reflect
consideration of available and pertinent information.
However,
the proposed boundaries remain subject to revisions suggested
during consultation with State and local authorities.
Formal
designation of a Region will be made only after a careful review
of all opinions and suggestions submitted during the consultation
process.
The National Air POllution Control Administration (NAPCA)
appreciates assistance received from the Utah State air pollution
control program and other State and local agencies in the Wasatch
Front area.
*For the purposes of this report, the word "region", when
capitalized will refer to the Wasatch Front Intrastate Quality
Control Region.
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4
INTRODUCTICE
THE REGIONAL APPROACH
Air pollution in the urban areas of the United States is
a regional problem which frequently extends across governmental
boundaries.
Therefore, successful control of air pollution
requires coordinated planning, standard setting, and enforcement
by the several governmental jurisdictions which share a common
problem.
At the present time, 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 between 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 first designates
air quality control regions, issues air quality criteria, and
publishes reports on control techniques.
The region designation
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 concentrations
of an air pollutant are harmful to health and damaging to property.
The reports on control techniques provide information on the
costs and effectiveness of various techniques for controlling
air pollutant emissions.
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5
After the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
completes these initial steps, State governments develop
air quality standards and plans for implementation of those
standards for the air quality control region.
An air quality
standard defines the desired limit on the concentration of a
pollutant in the ambient air of the region.
It represents the
degree of air quality which the regional control program will
attempt to achieve.
An implementation plan is a blueprint of
the steps which will be taken to attain the chosen air quality
standards within a reasonable time.
The Governors have 90
days to submit letters indicating that they intend to set
standards, 180 days in addition to set the standards, and 180
days further to develop plans for implementing them.
The
procedure for setting standards includes a public hearing
which allows residents of a region to express their views
concerning desired standards.
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 Clean
Air Act as amended.
When air quality standards and implementation plans
are approved, States proceed to prevent and control air pollution
in accordance with those standards and plans.
1his system for
establishing a regional approach to air pollution control is
depicted in the flow diagram in Figure 1.
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HEW DESIGNATES
AI R QUALITY
CONTROL REGIONS.
HEW DEVELOPS AND
PUBLISHES AIR
QUALITY CRITERIA
BASED ON SCIENTIFIC
EVI DENCE OF AI R
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.
0'
STATES ESTABLISH
COMPREHENSIVE PLANS
FOR IMPLEMENTING
AI R QUALITY
STANDARDS.
STATES SUBMIT
IMPLEMENTATION PLANS
FOR HEW REVIEW.
STATES ACTtO CONTROL
AIR POLLUTION IN ACCORDANCE
WITH AIR QUALITY STANDARDS
AND PLANS FOR IMPLEMENTATION.
Figure 1 FLOW DIAGRAM FOR ACTION TO CONTROL AIR POLLUTION ON A REGIONAL
BASIS, UNDER THE AIR QUALITY ACT.
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7
DESIGNATION OF AIR QUALI'lY CONTROL REGIONS
Designation of an air quality control region is one of the
first steps in the regional approach to air pollution control.
Section l07(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:
n...The Secretary, after consultation with
appropriate State and local authorities shall...
designate air quality control regions based on
jurisdictional boundaries, urban-industrial concen-
trations, and other factors including atmospheric
areas necessary to provide 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 DesiRnation of ReRions
Figure 2 illustrates the procedures used by the National
Air Pollution Control Administration for designating air quality
control regions.
After evaluating relevant engineering factors and urban
factors, the National Air Pollution Control Administration
publishes a report, such as this one, which proposes boundaries
for the air quality control Region and indicates the information
upon which the proposal is based.
NAPCA distributes the report
to interested State and local authorities and sets a time and
place for a consultation meeting to discuss the proposal.
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ENGINEERING EVALUATION
. EMISSIONS INVENTORY
. TOPOG RAPHY
. METEOROLOGY
. AI R QUALITY ANALYSIS
EXISTING AIR QUALITY DATA
DIFFUSION MODEL OUTPUT
., ,
PRELIMINARY CONSULTATION FORMAL
DELINEATION - WITH STATE AND .. DESIGNATION BY
... ...
OF REGIONS LOCAL OFFICIALS SECRETARY-HEW
URBAj\J FACTORS EVALUATION
~ ~
. JURISDICTIONAL BOUNDARIES
. URBAN-INDUSTRIAL CONCENTRATIONS
. COOPERATIVE REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
. PATTERNS AND RATES OF GROWTH
. EXISTING STATE AND LOCAL AIR POLLUTION
CONTROL PROGRAMS & LEGISLATION
Figure 2. FLOW DIAGRAM FOR THE DESIGNATION OF AIR QUALITY CONTROL REGIONS.
00
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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 formally designates
the boundaries of the region, notifies the Governor of the
designation, and announces the designation in the Federal ReRister.
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 suggests
a number of objectives which are important in determining 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.
In other words, 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.
In this way, all the major elements of the regional
problem will lie within one unified administrative jurisdiction.
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10
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 tract 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
geographic 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 this respect,
annual and seasonal data on pollutant emissions and ambient air
concentrations are a better measure of relative influence
than
short term data on episodic conditions.
The second general objective requires that region boundaries
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
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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 receptors of
regional air pollution for a number of years to come.
Of course,
region 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 region boundaries should be
compatible with and even foster unified and cooperative
governmental administration of the air resource throughout the
region.
Air pollution is a regional problem which often extends
across several municipal, county, and even state boundaries.
Clearly, the collaboration of several governmental jurisdictions
is prerequisite to the solution of the problem.
Therefore,
the region should be delineated in a way which encourages
regional cooperation among the various governmental bodies involved
in air pollution control.
In this regard, the existing pattern
of governmental cooperation on the whole range of urban problems
may become an important consideration.
Certainly the pattern
of cooperation among existing air pollution control programs
is a relevant factor.
In general, administrative considerations
dictate that governmental jurisdictions should not be divided.
Although it would be impractical to preserve State jurisdictions
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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 objectives
simultaneously.
As noted above, the evaluation of relevant engineering factors
and urban factors forms the basis of the boundary proposals
published by NAPCA.
The evaluation of engineering factors is
designed to indicate the location of pollution sources and the
geographic extent of serious pollutant concentrations in the
ambient air.
Pollution sources are located by ~aking an inventory
of emissions from automobiles, industrial activities, space heating,
waste disposal, and other pollution generators.
The transport
and distribution of pollutants in the 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 engineering study indicates
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how large the air quality control region must be in order to
encompass most pollution sources and most people and property
affected by those sources.
The study of urban factors encompasses non-engineering
considerations.
It reviews existing governmental jurisdictions,
the location of urban and industrial concentrations, expected
patterns of urban growth, cooperative regional arrangements,
existing State and local air pollution control programs, and
other associated factors.
As a whole, the study of urban factors
is designed to indicate how large a region must be in order to
encompass expected regional growth and to encourage cooperation
among political units in controlling air pollution.
The body of this report contains a proposal for the boundaries
of the Wasatch Front Intrastate Air Quality Control Region and
outlines the evaluation of engineering and urban factors which
were the basis of the proposal.
The report serves as the back-
ground document for the consultation with appropriate State and
local authorities.
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EVALUATlm OF URBAN FACTORS
INTRODUCTICIt
A number of urban factors are relevant to the problem of
defining air quality control region boundaries.
First, the
location of population is an important consideration, since
human activity is the primary cause of air pollution, and
humans are the ultimate victims.
The population growth pattern
is another important consideration, since an air quality control
region should be designed not only for the present, but also
for the future.
The location of industrial activity and the
industrial growth pattern are relevant considerations for
similar reasons.
POlitical and jurisdictional considerations
are important, since the Clean Air Act envisions regional
air pollution programs based on cooperative efforts among many
political jurisdictions.
The following discussion of urban
factors will present these considerations as they apply to the
Wasatch Front area.
TOPOGRAPHY
Topography has had a dominant influence on the location
of residential and industrial development in the Wasatch Front
area.
Figure 3 indicates the topography of the area.
The
Great Salt Lake has an elevation of 4,200 feet above sea level.
Shaded areas in Figure 3 are at least 7,000 feet above sea
level, and therefore about 2,800 feet above the elevation of
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15
Figure 3: TOPOGRAPHY
Shaded areas are 7,000 feet or more elevation.
~ ~ ~t.
C09... ~
...
!t.
~O 10 ~
MILES
g
BOX ELDER COUNTY
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the Great Salt Lake.
The Figure shows that the Wasatch Mountain
Range extends from a point about 15 miles north of Brigham City
southward past Qgden, Salt Lake City, and Provo.
Most of the
urban development in the area has taken place in the valley just
to the west of the Wasatch Range.
Most of the valley is at the
same elevation as the Great Salt Lake, about 4,200 feet.
However,
between Salt Lake City and Provo, the valley floor rises gradually
so that in the vicinity of Provo the elevation is about 4,500
feet.
The vSlley extends from Brigham City in the north to Provo
in the south, interrupted at only one point by the Traverse
,
Mountains, midway between Salt Lake City and Provo.
The ridges
of the Traverse Mountains, which are oriented in an east-west
direction, rise to only 6,500 feet.
Furthermore, the Jordan
River cuts a gap in these ridges, linking Utah Lake and the
Great Salt Lake.
Therefore, the Traverse Mountains constitute
only a minor interruption of the Valley topography.
Intermittant ridges define the western edge of the valley.
About 25 miles west of Brigham City lie the Promontory Mountains,
which at some points rise to over 7,000 feet elevation.
These
ridges descend into the Great Salt Lake at Promontory POint,
but emerge from the Lake further south in the form of Antelope
Island, which rises to 6,000 feet.
About 10 miles south of
Antelope Island the ridge emerges again, in the form of the
Qquirrh Mountains, which rise to well over 7,000 feet.
Compared
to the Wasatch Range which clearly establishes the eastern
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17
border of the valley, these ridges to the west provide only a
fragmented outline of the western border.
They are less high,
less massive, and broken by more gaps.
A second valley area can be distinguished to the west of
the first one.
This valley area contains Tooele Valley and
Rush Valley just to the west of the Oquirrh Mountains, and
western portions of the Great Salt Lake to the west of the
Promontory Mountains.
POPUIATIOO'
Figure 4 and Table I indicate the impact of the Wasatch
Mountain Range upon the location of population in Utah.
The
valley along the western edge of the range contains well over
half of the State's population.
In 1960, Davis, Salt Lake,
Utah, and Weber Counties collectively accounted for about 75%
of the State's population.
By 1980, these same four counties
are expected to have about 80% of the State's population.
Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden are the major population centers
at the present time.
In accordance with this, there are three
Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA's) which contain
the four counties along the Wasatch Front; the Salt Lake City
SMSA composed of Salt Lake and Davis Counties, the Ogden SMSA
composed of Weber County, and the Provo SMSA composed of Utah
County.
At the present time these four counties contain about
850,000 residents.
By 1980 they may have about 160,000 additional
residents, who will probably locate along the north-south
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18
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POPULATION DENSITY,
people/m.2
.
> 6,000
II 2,000 - 6,000
m 1,000 - 2,000
[] 500 - 1,000
D 100 - 500
o
<100
Figure 4 Population density map for the Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden study area.
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TABLE I. POPULATION ESTIMATES
LAND PROJECTIONS, PROJECTIONS , PERCENT OF STATE TOfAL,
AREA: COMPONENT METHOD EMPLOYMENT METHOD EMPLOYMENT METHOD PROJECTIONS
COUNTY SQ. MI. 1960 1970 1980 1970 1980 1960 1970 1980
0\
r-I
BOX ELDER 5,627 25,061 32,990 44,540 31,000 39,500 2.8% 2.7% 2.7%
CACHE 1,174 35,788 46,070 59,000 45,100 55,000 4.0 4.0 3.8
DAVIS 297 64,760 85,950 117 , 200 104,000 142,700 7.3 9.2 9.9
SALT LAKE 764 383,035 481,960 614,980 512,000 661,400 43.0 45.1 45.7
TOOELE 6,923 17 , 868 22,650 29,280 23,600 30,800 2.0 2.0 2.1
trrAH 2,014 106,991 138,430 177,310 140,000 173,200 12.0 12.4 12.0
WEBER 581 110,744 140,130 181,990 134,200 174,300 12.4 11.8 12.1
STATE OF
trrAH
890,627 1,133,070 1,467,240 1,134,606 1,446,800
Source: POPULATION PROJECTIONS; Black, Rasmussen, Hachman; Economic and Population Studies,
Utah State Planning Program; December, 1967.
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corridor connecting Qgden, Salt Lake City, and Provo.
Development
along this corridor is already apparent, as illustrated by
Figure 5, which indicates incorporated places in Utah.
The
system of interstate highways, shown in Figure 6, will promote
further development along the corridor during the future.
As population densities increase along the Wasatch Front,
there will be increasing pressure for development to spread
into the eastern portions of Tooele and Box Elder Counties.
At
the present ttme each of these counties contains about 20,000
to 30,000 residents.
Each may gain about 10,000 additional
residents during the next decade.
In summary, the highest population densities in Utah occur
along the valley just to the west of the Wasatch MOuntains.
Future growth will probably occur primarily along the north-south
corridor between Ogden, Salt Lake City, and Provo.
However,
some development in the eastern portions of Tooele and Box,
Elder Counties is anticipated.
EMPLOYMENT
Table II indicates employment in the counties in the
Study Area.
Salt Lake, Weber, Utah, and Davis Counties account
for a large majority of the present employment.
Future
employment levels will depend in part upon military spending
in the area.
Military spending has had a particularly strong
influence on employment in Box Elder and Tooele Counties.
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Figure 5:
UTAH 1960
21
INCORPORATED PLACES
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22
Figure 6;
Major Highways
T--------
80)( ELDER
UTAH
-
Primary
Interstate
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Source:
Utah State Department of H1ghways,
1966.
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TABLE II: EMPLOYMENT, 1965;
C"'I
C"I COUNTY EMPLOYMENT IN SELECTED INDUSTRIES TOTAL
EMPLOYMENT
MANUFAC- MINING SERVICES GOVERN-
TURING MENT
BOX ELDER 3,170 9,790
CACHE 1,281 4,146 12,520
DAVIS 2,426 15,778 26,900
SALT LAKE 26.987 6,724 22,653 27,512 179,670
TOOELE 650 105 6,054 8,950
UIAH 7,679 8,047 5,170 35,870
WEBER 4,077 9,408 36,820
Source: POPULATION PROJECTIONS; Black, Rasmussen, Hachman; Economic and Population Studies,
Utah State Planning Program; December, 1967.
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For example, in 1965 nearly two-thirds of the total employment
in Tooele County was directly related to military activities.
Due to fluctuations in military spending, employment in Tooele
varied from nearly 11,000 in 1952 to about 6,000 in 1959.
In
response to changing demands for missile construction, manufacturing
emploYment in Box Elder County varied from about 500 in 1956
to more than 6,000 in 1962 and back down to about 3,000 in 1965.
If the past is a valid indication of the future, then military
spending will have a strong influence over the future growth
of employment in Tboe1e and Box Elder Counties.
In general, employment concentrations generally coincide
with population concentrations along the Wasatch MOuntains.
If emploYment grows in the future, most of the growth is likely
to occur in Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah Counties.
Depending
upon military activities, employment in eastern portions of
Tooele and Box Elder Counties may also increase in the future.
REGIONAL ACTIVITIES
The Wasatch Front Regional Council of Governments, established
about two years ago, provides a basis for regional planning and
coordination among its members, the counties of Weber, Davis,
Salt Lake, and Tooele.
At the present time the Council has a
budget of about 50,000 dollars, with which it carries out its
planning responsibilities in the areas of regional air pollution
control, regional transportation, regiona11and use, and review .
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of regional programs supported by federal funds.
The Council
has appointed a committee on air pollution control, and hired
a staff person for this committee.
The committee has advocated
uniformity of air pollution regulations and enforcement procedures
among the member jurisdictions.
Although Utah County is not
presently a member of the Wasatch Front Council of Governments,
Utah County has been invited to send a representative to the
meetings of the air pollution control committee.
In this way
the Council has indicated its concern with a regional air pollution
problem which encompasses not only its member counties but also
Utah County.
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL ACTIVITIES
The State of Utah established an air pollution control
program within the State Division of Health during 1967.
The
Air Conservation Council, composed of nine members appointed
by the Governor, has authority to adopt necessary rules and
regulations to control air pollution, and to establish regional
air quality standards.
The State Division of Health is responsible
for enforcing the rules and regulations of the Council.
By the
beginning of 1970, the Council had adopted regulations for open
burning, and established an ambient air quality standard for
suspended particulates.
The budget of the air pollution control
program was about $265,000 during the 1969 fiscal year.
The
Utah State law provides for local air pollution control programs,
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but in general these have not been established.
However, the
State program relies upon local officials for assistance in
enforcing the State regulations.
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EVALUATICD OF ENGINEERING FACTORS
INTRODUCTION
This study of the technical aspects of air pollution in
the Wasatch Front area was based on consideration of pollutant
emissions, topography, meteorology, and measured air quality.
EMISSIONS INVENTORY
An emissions inventory is a quantitative description of
emission sources broken down by geographic location and type
of pollutant.
The inventory usually identifies the ncore" of
an air quality control region; that is, the area where the
bulk of the emissions occur and throughout which control activities
must take place in order to deal with a regional air pollution
problem.
For this reason, a presentation of the emissions
inventory serves as a logical starting point in the engineering
evaluation.
The National Air POllution Control Administration conducted
an inventory of air pollutant emissions for the Wasatch Front
area, with the assistance of the Utah Division of Health.
The
inventory was based on estimated rather than measured emissions.
It applies to conditions in 1968, the latest full year for which
data were available.
Three major po11utants--sulfur oxides,
particulates, and carbon monoxide--were considered in this
study since emissions of these pollutants provide a general measure
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28
of the location and density of air pollution scnr ces in the
Wasatch Front area.
Emissions from 31 major point sources
(sources emitting more than 0.25 tons per day of any pollutant)
were listed individually in the inventory.
"nte inventory en-
compassed portions of seven counties:
Box Elder, Cache, Davis,
Salt Lake City, Tooele, Utah, and Weber.
The Study Area was
divided into the grid coordinate system shown in Figure 7.
The
estimated emissions of each of the three pollutants were expressed
by grid zone as average daily emissions on the basis of an annual
averaging time.
Table III shows the annual-average daily emissions.
Emission densities for each of the three pollutants, expressed
in tons per square mile per day, were determined by relating
the total emissions in each of the grid zones to the land area
of that zone.
Figure 8, 9, and 10 show the resulting densities
on maps.
Table IV shows the relative contribution of the various
counties and various source categories to the total emissions
of each pollutant.
Sulfur Oxide Emissions:
Figure 8 shows that sulfur oxide emissions sources are
located along the length of the corridor extending from Ogden
through Salt Lake City to Provo.
By far the most important
emitters of sulfur oxides are two industrial sources; one,
located in western Salt Lake County, is responsible for about
76% of the total Study Area emissions, and the other, in
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29
Figure 7:
EMISSIONS INVENTORY GRID SYSTEM
a
,---
"-
'l
'"
\(
~
( ...
I ,--........,
\ ~
{ C-"",
, -.
L '
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\ ~
/ ,
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,.../, "-,.
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---------------1!!.OELE ~O.!!!!J!_--' -' \} ./l. L___--""--l
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-------
30
TABLE III.
EMISSIONS BY GRID ZC!m IN THE WASATCH FRONT AREA
(Tons Per Day)
GRID LAND AREA CARBON
NUMBER (SQ. Miles) SULFUR OXIDES PARTICUIATES MONOXIDE
1 154.4 0.3 0.8 7.6
2 38.6 0.0 0.2 1.2
3 38.6 0.7 1.3 16.2
4 154.4 0.4 1.0 10.7
5 38.6 0.1 0.3 2.2
6 38.6 0.4 0.8 8.6
7 38.6 0.1 0.3 1.3
8 38.6 0.1 0.3 1.9
9 38.6 0.6 1.4 16.0
10 38.6 0.2 0.4 2.5
11 38.6 0.0 0.2 1.6
12 38.6 0.1 0.4 6.0
13 38.6 0.4 0.7 4.8
14 38.6 1.9 6.3 59.0
15 38.6 1.4 2.5 17.2
16 38.6 0.7 2.2 18.3
17 38.6 0.4 1.3 11.6
18 38.6 0.2 0.8 5.2
19 38.6 4.7 1.9 18.6
20 38.6 0.1 0.8 22.0
21 9.6 11.5 1.0 11.9
22 9.6 0.0 0.2 1.9
23 9.6 30.2 46.2 47.5
24 9.6 1.9 4.0 49.7
25 9.6 0.0 0.2 2.9
26 38.6 1.2 2.1 22:1
27 9.6 0.6 1.2 23.6
28 9.6 1.2 2.8 55.7
29 9.6 0.2 0.7 12.2
30 9.6 1.2 2.3 11.6
31 9.6 0.3 0.8 18.9
32 9.6 0.1 0.5 9.9
33 38.6 0.1 0.5 9.8
34 9.6 1.2 1.7 11.3
35 9.6 0.2 0.5 9.3
36 9.6 0.1 0.3 4.3
37 9.6 0.1 0.3 3.9
38 9.6 0.1 0.3 5.2
39 9.6 0.1 0.2 3.0
40 38.6 0.0 0.3 3.3
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31
TABLE III. (cont.)
GRID LAND ARPA CARBON
NUMBER (Sq. Miles) SULFUR OXIDES PARTICULATES MONOXIDE
41 38.6 0.1 0.3 4.4
42 38.6 0.1 0.7 4.9
43 38.6 0.1 0.9 7.5
44 23.1 0.4 1.1 13.1
45 38.6 10.8 50.7 18.7
46 38.6 2.6 4.4 32.6
47 30.8 0.9 1.8 60.2
48 38.6 0.3 0.1 0.9
49 38.6 0.6 1.2 9.4
50 38.6 0.5 1.2 10.7
51 617.7 633.6 14.0 89.2
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32
Figure 8.
I
I
i (
~
h- iMootACHECiiiiiiTY\
)
,(
I
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r
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l
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't
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'7
SULFUR OXIDE EMISSIONS,
tons/m.2.day
i
\ '--~\\
( C-",.
, -.
l '
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\ \
/ \
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) <
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,-/, '...\
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(-,-' "'" c.,
-------------_-I!!.OELE ~OUNT!__...J ~.> ,//\ L___.-....-,
\ - I
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. > 3.00
. 1.00 - 3.00
t:a0.10-1.00
EJ 0.05 - 0.10
[J 0.01 - 0.05
o <0.01
Sulfur oXide emission density map for the Salt Lake City Provo, and Ogden study area.
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33
Figure 9.
PA.RTICULA. TE EMISSIONS.
tons/m,2.day
. > 4.00
.1.00 - 4.00
i
\ '-~/\
{ C.""-
I -,
l .....
. )
~ \
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--------------~!!.OflE ~OUHT!__..J - ~) //l, L.- """--1
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. .1"
<...-'
11 0.10 - 1.00
II 0.05 - 0.10
00.01 - 0.05
o < 0.01
Particulate emIssIon density map for the Salt Lake CIty, Provo, and Ogden study area.
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34
Figure 10.
CARBON MONOXIDE EMISSIONS,
tons/m.2.doy
. >5.00
112.00 - 5.00
EJ 1.00 - 2.00
110.25 - 1.00
(] 0.10 - 0.25
o < 0.10
Carbon monoxide emission density map for the Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden study area.
-------
T ABLE IV
35
RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO EMISSIONS
BY COUNTY AND BY SOURCE TYPE
SULFUR OXIDES
(260,300 tons per
year)
83% Salt Lake
12% Tooele
2% Utah
3% Other
89% Industrial
Processes
4% Steam Electric
3% Industrial
Fuel Use
4% Other
PARTICULATES
(60,500 tons per
year)
BY COUNTY
47% Salt Lake
36% Utah
5% Weber
4% Davis
3% Tooele
5% Other
BY SOURCE
TYPE
6l'%. Industrial
Processes
16% Solid Waste
Disposal
14% Stationary
Fuel Use
9% Transportation
CARBON MONOXIDE
(290,200 tons per year)
44% Sa 1 t Lake
20% Utah
11% Weber
10% Tooele
6% Davis
5% Cache
4% Box Elder
64% Road Vehicle
16% Solid Waste Disposal
15% Industrial Processes
5% Other
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36
eastern Tooele County, is responsible for about 12% of the
total emissions.
Other emission sources along the corridor
are dwarfed in comparison.
Particulate Emissions:
Figure 9 shows that particulate emission sources can be found
along the length of the corridor.
The most important emitters
are two industrial sources; one, located north of Provo, is
responsible for about 30% of the total particulate emissions,
and the other, just north of Salt Lake City, is responsible
for about 25% of the emissions.
Carbon MOnoxide:
Figure 10 shows that carbon monoxide emissions are located
throughout the corridor, with the heaviest concentrations
existing in Salt Lake County and Utah County.
Table IV indicates
that the most important source of carbon monoxide emissions
is the road vehicle, which is responsible for about 64% of the
total emissi~ns.
Solid waste disposal accounts for about 16%
of the emissions.
Conclusion:
Table IV shows that emission sources in Salt Lake County
account for a large portion of the emissions along the Wasatch
ho~.
Utah, Tooele, and Weber Counties are next most important
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37
in rank.
Each of these counties should be included in the
air quality control region in order to make the region co~
prehensive with respect to emission sources.
Fmissions from
Box Elder County and Cache County are not a large portion of
the total emissions.
TOPOORAPHY AND METEOROLOOY
The emissions inventory, presented above, identifies the
location and amount of air pollution emissions in the Wasatch
Front area.
This section on topography and meteorology and
the following section on air quality will consider the geographic
extent of the regional air pollution problem resulting from
the transport of pollution from source locations to neighboring
areas.
The topography of the Wasatch Front area is described in
the "Urban Factors" section of this report in connection with
its impact upon the location of residential and industrial
development.
The Wasatch Mountain Rdnge, extending in a north.
south direction, is the most important feature in the area.
Most of the emissions in the Study Area are contained in the
valley which lies between the Wasatch Mountains and the broken
ridge formed by the Promontory Mountains, Antelope Island, and
the Oquirrh Mountains.
However, a few significant sources are
found in Tooele County, just west of the Oquirrh Mountains.
!he only obstruction to the flow of pollutants north and south
along the valley is the Traverse Mountains, between Salt Lake
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38
City and Provo.
However, since these mountains are not as high
as the Wasatch MOuntains and the Oquirrh MOuntains, they fall
short of being an absolute barrier to flow across them.
Due
to the gap between Antelope Island and the Oquirrh MOuntains,
transport of pollutants from Salt Lake County to eastern Tooele
County and vice versa can occur.
Therefore, based on topographical
considerations, it is clear that Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah,
.'
and eastern portions of Tooele County should be included in
the Region.
Two studies of meteorology in the Salt Lake City area reinforce
the conclusions derived from the topographical considerations~1,2)
As shown in Figure 11, surface winds in the Salt Lake City area
are generally either from the southeast or from the north.
These
winds promote the transport of pollution from source locations
to neighboring areas along the north-south valley.
The Salt Lake City area is subject to temperature inversions
a relatively high percentage of the time.
Data indicates that
perhaps 50% of the time during the fall and winter, a temperature
inversion exists.
This percentage is about as high as any in
the Western United States.
Since temperature inversions limit
lA Synoptic Climatolo~y of Diurnal Inversions in the Jordan
Valley, Charles Ray Dickson, 1957;
2
A Study of Meteorological Effect on Air Pbllution in the Salt
Lake Valley, Dean Neldon Jackman, 1968.
-------
FIGURE 11;
39
WIND FREQUENCIES, SALT LAKE CITY
DURING STAGNATION EPISODES
j. .
ANNUAL
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40
the possibility for diffusion of pollution into the upper
atmosphere, prolonged inversions are usually associated with
"high air pollution potential" periods.
Studies indicate that
'-
the Salt Lake City area has experienced such "high air pollution
potential" periods for more time during the last decade than
any other place in the Western United States except for one
area in California.
Figure 11 indicates that surface winds during inverion periods
are still principally from the south or from the north.
Therefore,
during inversion periods, when poor "ventilation" leads to
high concentrations of pollutants, transport of po11~tion north
and south along the valley still occurs.
Surface wind patterns in the northeast corner of Tooele
County appear to show that pollution is frequently transported
through the gap between the Oquirrh MOuntains and Antelope
Island.
MEASURED AIR QUALITY DATA
Tie Utah State Division of Health has measured suspended
particulates at three locations along the Wasatch Front for
several years and at two additional locations for the last two
years.
The State has measured sulfur oxide concentrations at
three locations since the early sixties, but this information
has not been made available to the public.
The National Air
Surveillance Network has recorded suspended particulate
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41
concentrations at two locations and sulfur oxide concentrations
at one location during the last three years.
Table V indicates
the results of the suspended particulate measurements by the
State of Utah and the suspended particulate and sulfur oxide
measurements by the National Air Surveillance Network.
TABLE V.
MEASURED AIR QUALITY
Suspended Particulates:
Micrograms Per Cubic Meter, Annual Average.
1969 1968 1967 1966
Sa1 t Lake City (A) 100 96 103 106
Salt Lake Airport (A) 100 99
Magna (A) 85 85
Ogden (A) 95 90 102 93
Provo (A) 107 96 84 60
Salt Lake City (B) 84 75 78
Ogden (B) 77 62
Sulfur Oxides:
Parts Per MiUion, Annual Average.
Salt Lake City (B)
1969
0.009
1968
0.007
1967
0.006
(A) Source:
(B) Source:
Utah Division of Health
National Air Surveillance Network
In conclusion, the review of topography, meteorology, and
measured air quality indicates that pollution generated along
the valley affects the whole valley and is subject to a relatively
high frequency of temperature inversions.
The regional air
pollution problem ~lear1y affects the four main counties along
~
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42
the valley; Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah.
In addition, the
two large point sources of sulfur oxides near the boundary
between Tooele and Salt Lake Counties undoubtedly give rise
to transport of pollution across that boundary on occasion.
Therefore, at least eastern portions of Tooele County should
be included in the Region.
Due to prevailing winds from the
south, it is possible that pollution from sources in Weber,
Davis, and Salt Lake Counties are transported northward on
occasion into Box Elder County.
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43
THE PROPOSAL
PROPOOAL
Subject to the scheduled consultation, the Secretary,
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, proposes to
designate an air quality control region for the Wasatch Front
area, consisting of the territory encompassed by the following
jurisdictions in the State of Utah:
Davis County
Salt Lake County
Tooele County
Utah County
Weber County
The emissions inventory showed that Salt Lake County is
responsible for a larger portion of emissions than any other
county in the Study Area.
However, Utah, Weber, and Tooele
Counties also have significant emission sources.
Topography,
meteorology, and air quality data all indicate that Weber,
Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, and the eastern portion of Tooele
Counties are all linked to the regional air pollution problem
as either source or receptor areas.
Therefore, the Region
should include at least these areas in order to be comprehensive.
Due to Tooele County's membership in the Wasatch Front
Regional Council of Governments, and due to the administrative
advantage in preserving unsplit an entire county jurisdiction,
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44
it seems appropriate to include all of Tooele County in the
Region even though only the eastern portion is intimately linked
to the regional air pollution problem.
The emissions inventory did not reveal any large sources
in Box Elder County, partly because the Study Area did not en-
compass the missile production sites and test facilities.
The
most important emissions from these activities are beryllium
pollutants, which would have appeared in the inventory as particulate
emissions.
From the available data, it appears that eastern
portions of Box Elder County are not closely linked to the
regional air pollution problem, and therefore do not need to
be included in the proposed Region at this time.
However, if
State and local officials believe that the inclusion of Box
Elder County would contribute to the control of regional air
pollution, and officially request the inclusion of Box Elder
County during the consultation period, such a request would
be carefully considered before final action is taken.
Furthermore,
it should be recognized that future growth of industrial
activities and residential development in Box Elder County
may lead to growth of air pollutant emissions.
If such a
trend develops, then Box Elder County should be reconsidered
for inclusion in the Region if it is not made a member in
the initial designation.
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