MTO: Macon's ozone keeps adding up

For two years now, Macon has failed new Environmental Protection Agency standards for reducing airborne ozone. Now, as the 1999 ozone season begins, forecasters are once again awaiting the haze.

If Macon fails again this year, stricter regulations may be enforced by the EPA and the state's Environmental Protection Division to reduce pollution in Bibb County.

	OZONE LEVELS
	For Macon area ozone levels, call the Environmental Protection Division's toll-free number at 1-800-427-9605. On the World Wide Web, try: 167.193.52.140/amp/index.html

"We won't know if the Macon area meets the Clean Air Act standard for ozone until the end of the year," said Kenneth Powell, an EPD environmental program manager. "I do not believe there's any reason this summer should not be like last summer."

Macon's air contained enough ozone last year to surpass the federal standard of .085 parts per million over an eight-hour period for 18 days. That means enough nitrogen dioxide mixed with the hot sun and substances such as automobile exhaust and cleaning-solvent vapors to create unhealthy respiratory conditions for more than two weeks last summer.

Figures for 1997 were lower, with only 12 days above the new standard. Monitors measure ozone from May to September.

A new report from the Clean Air Network and Clean Air Task Force released Tuesday listed Macon's two-year ozone average as being comparable to cities of Charlotte, N.C., Knoxville, Tenn., and even New York City.

"I knew the ozone levels had been exceeding unhealthy levels, but even I was surprised to see Macon up there with New York City and Washington, D.C.," said Jennifer Lyons, campaign director for the Georgia AirKeepers, a coalition of environmental and social justice groups.

"I think people believe Georgia is cleaner than that," Lyons said. "I think they think it's more rural and doesn't have ozone problems."

Macon is not alone. Atlanta leads the state in ozone emissions, and Augusta and Columbus are also dealing with higher-than-usual levels of pollution.

Macon's ozone conditions come from various sources, none of which can be pinpointed, Powell said. Contributing factors include congested roads and rush-hour traffic, weather patterns that keep summer temperatures in the 90s, and industrial pollution such as that from coal-burning power plants.

There are three power plants run by Georgia Power in the vicinity. Plant Scherer was one of the largest-producing electricity plants in the United States last year. With that came a large amount of nitrogen dioxide, a key ingredient of ozone.

Georgia Power spokesman John Sell said the company is doing what it can to reduce its emissions from coal-burning plants.

"The EPA is going to require us to reduce our NOx emissions over the next couple of years to (an average of) 30,000 tons per state," Sell said. "Right now, we're at 88,000 tons."

Some of that can be done with new technology, such as NOx burners and low-sulfur coal. Since 1990, Georgia Power has spent close to $2 million in the Macon area at Plants Scherer and Arkwright, Sell said.

"It's like trying to fit a new emissions system on a 1965 Ford Mustang," Sell said. "It's not going to work as well as if you put it on a 1999 model"

The Georgia AirKeepers doesn't believe that. It would like to see each plant held to a strict 30,000-ton standard instead of it being a statewide average.

"That would help take care of Macon," Lyons said. "If they reduced emissions to that number at every plant, we've calculated that it's equivalent to removing 4.8 million cars from the roads in Georgia."

But Sell said Georgia Power isn't due all the blame for the city's current situation.

"The biggest problem in Macon is that nobody really knows who's causing what, because of the limited amount of information," Sell said. "The EPD has been focusing on Atlanta, and there isn't enough inventory on Macon."

Because Macon is located in a valley, it is possible that automobile exhausts are getting trapped, Sell said. It is also possible that ozone from the power plants is being carried away and not being deposited on the city.

Georgia Power's modeling says cars are five to 10 times more likely to cause ozone problems in Macon than the nearby power plants.

Few people will dispute that cars are also a large source of the city's ozone. In Macon, a major roads program is under way to alleviate the stand-still traffic that raises automobile emissions. More roads, however, could also increase the number of cars on the road.

"The more roads there are, the farther people drive and the more cars you have on the road," Lyons said. "The transportation solution is finding other means of transportation than building more roads."

There are also two interstate highways that cut through the city, bringing out-of-state vehicles from the Midwest on summer trips to Florida. This doesn't help, said Kelly Sheckler, an EPA environmental scientist. Unfortunately, it's hard to determine how much of the city's pollution problems arise from drive-through traffic.

"We have to understand we're all part of the problem," Powell said. "It's incumbent upon us to be part of the solution."

If Macon doesn't quickly find a plan to alleviate its atmosphere of pollution, federal regulators may step in.

The EPA will determine whether Macon falls out of attainment with Clean Air Act standards on July 1, 2000. The city would have to implement a state-approved plan for ozone reduction. Continuing to post high ozone figures could cause the city to forfeit federal highway funds.

"If they exceed their budget for emissions, they'll either have to offset them or it could impact their ability to build," Sheckler said. "Macon has never been subject to such a plan before."