WASHINGTON -- Hamilton County is expected to be among counties nationwide that fail tough new smog standards, an official said Wednesday.
Bob Colby of the Hamilton-County Air Pollution Control Bureau said he anticipates the federal Environmental Protection Agency today will list the county among those not in compliance with the new national standard.
"We'll be designated as 'non-attainment' based upon the last three years" of pollution data, Mr. Colby said.
Twenty six other Tennessee counties, including Knox and Shelby, and nearly 500 counties nationwide face the prospect of similar designations because of unhealthy air, officials said.
Ozone is produced by a combination of elements such as fuel vapors and nitrogen oxides from coal-fired power plants or other industrial sources. Heat and sunlight "cook" the mixture, turning it into smog, according to scientists.
Counties that do not meet the national standards will have to take steps to improve air quality. If they don't make progress quickly enough, they eventually could face restrictions on economic development and federal road funding, according to federal officials and environmentalists.
States and counties could be forced to require vehicle inspections and maintenance and institute bans on truck idling, officials said.
"I think you will see more than 20 counties in Tennessee designated as nonattainment for ozone," said Will Calloway, executive director of the Tennessee Environmental Council.
Officials in Hamilton and the state's other major metropolitan areas hope to qualify for the Early Action Compact, a waiver program. Counties allowed to participate in the program agree to come into compliance with the new ozone standards within three years in exchange for the federal government not taking harsh actions.
"The question remains as to whether or not the Early Action Compact plans put forth will be approved," Mr. Calloway said. "If they're approved, all of those Early Action Compact counties won't have any penalties through 2007."
EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt said Wednesday that some communities "recognized early on that they would not be meeting more stringent ozone standards and began to think creatively about how to clean the air more quickly and avoid designation."
Thirty-three metropolitan areas nationwide are trying to enter the Early Action Compact program, Mr. Leavitt said. In Tennessee, Hamilton, Davidson, Knox, Shelby, the Tri-Cities in Northeast Tennessee and surrounding counties hope to qualify, he said.
"Our strongest cases we felt were in Chattanooga, Tri-Cities and Nashville," said Barry Stephens, director of the Division of Air Pollution Control for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. "We said all along it was going to be very difficult for Knoxville and Memphis. We were never able to demonstrate attainment."
Mr. Calloway said he isn't sure Hamilton County will qualify for Early Action Compact status.
Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said Tennessee and Hamilton County officials have made few real efforts to reduce pollution in the Early Action Compact plans submitted to the EPA.
"Folks are trying to do politically the minimum and see what EPA does," Mr. Smith said, noting efforts such as lowering urban interstate speed limits are stuck in the General Assembly.
Mr. Stephens said the Tennessee Pollution Control Board actively is considering a number of measures to curb ozone.
E-mail Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com