by Joe Sullivan
It shouldn't take the threat of federal sanctions to spur the Knoxville area to start redressing its worst shortcoming: poor air quality.
The need for action has been evidenced by study after study identifying Knoxville as one of the 10 most polluted cities in the country and the Smokies as by far the most polluted national park. Excessive ozone is the worst offender, endangering both the health of residents and the health of the economy of an area that's heavily dependent on tourism.
Yet it's taken the pending imposition of stiffer federal standards to finally get local governmental officials concertedly addressing ozone reduction measures. The seven counties that comprise the Knoxville metropolitan area have until March 30 to submit a plan for complying with the standard. All elements of the plan must then be implemented by year-end 2004 for purposes of a three-year test period to determine if the standard has been attained. Non-attainment could mean a cut off of federal highway funds and denial of permits needed for new industries to locate in the Knoxville area or for existing industries to expand.
While many sources contribute to ozone in the air, motor vehicle emissions account for more than half of it. Hence, reducing these emissions has been the focal point of planning efforts over the past year on the part of the seven counties that the federal Environmental Protection Agency is requiring to meet its standard in conjunction.
A study conducted by a UT professor of civil and environmental engineering, Wayne Davis, evaluated the potential for curbing ozone of 25 emission reduction measures. These included everything from alternative fuels on new buses and high occupancy vehicle lanes as a ride-sharing incentive to vapor controls at gasoline stations and truck stop electrification to reduce diesel engine idling. While all of these measures, and many more, are worthwhile, the study concluded that, "[vehicle] inspection and maintenance programs, diesel fuel additives, truck electrification and lowering the speed limit on rural interstates produce the greatest potential emission reductions."
According to Davis' projections, no single step will come close to yielding the approximately 10 percent reduction in ozone levels needed to meet the new EPA standard. These projections also take into account the benefits of stricter federal emission standards that go into effect for new cars in 2004 and for new diesel trucks in 2007. (So it's not as if the entire burden of meeting the new ozone standard is being thrust upon localities.)
The biggest single source of ozone reduction attainable locally (at 3.6 percent per Davis) is imposition of annual vehicle inspection and maintenance. The efficacy of a stringent I & M program is exemplified by the Nashville area. Its introduction there in the mid-1990's is widely credited with bringing the five-county area into compliance with the then-applicable EPA standard, and all but one of the counties are already in compliance with the new standard.
For those who perceive vehicle testing as a nuisance, state air pollution control officials insist it can be relatively painless. A sole source contractor operates 11 test stations throughout the Nashville area, and according to its general manager testing takes no more than four minutes and costs $10. For the 12 percent of vehicles that fail the test, a routine engine tune up is all that's usually needed, and there's no charge for a retest. A certificate of compliance is required in order to renew a vehicle's registration.
Lowering the interstate speed limit to 55 miles per hour for trucks would achieve just about as much ozone reduction as vehicle inspections. According to Davis, that's because diesel engine emissions increase rapidly at higher speeds. To the surprise of many, the Tennessee Trucking Association has said it wouldn't object to a lower speed limit as long as it is uniformly applied to cars as well as trucks, ostensibly for safety reasons. But there is very little to be gained from an emissions standpoint by reducing the present 70 miles per hour speed limit for automobiles outside of urban areas, where it is already 55.
Conditioning vehicle registrations on inspection and lowering the speed limit would both require action by the state Legislature. Initial soundings with several legislators are anything but favorable toward the prospects. But Memphis and Chattanooga both face challenges similar to the Knoxville area's in meeting the new EPA standard. And the legislation obtained by the five counties in the Nashville area provides a precedent for authorizing a metropolitan area to take special measures to deal with an air pollution problem.
The gravity of the problem may not yet have gotten through to many. Boasts about Knoxville's quality of life have a hollow ring when excessive ozone is known to cause and aggravate lung disease and to deprive us of scenic views. Job creation, which has become the mantra of our top elected officials, is also jeopardized as long as the threat of EPA sanctions overhangs us.
The president of the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership, Mike Edwards, says there is no way of telling how many manufacturers won't even consider locating here under present circumstances. "More ominous," he adds, "if existing industries can't get permits to expand, they are going to be forced to consider moving to other locations." But Edwards goes on to venture, "I think people are beginning to understand that their jobs and their standard of living are in jeopardy and that we've got to accept nuisance things like car inspections."
December 25, 2003 * Vol. 13, No. 52
© 2003 Metro Pulse
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