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9/2/11 press release from THE WHITE HOUSE

"Statement by the President on the Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards

"Over the last two and half years, my administration, under the leadership of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, has taken some of the strongest actions since the enactment of the Clean Air Act four decades ago to protect our environment and the health of our families from air pollution. From reducing mercury and other toxic air pollution from outdated power plants to doubling the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks, the historic steps we’ve taken will save tens of thousands of lives each year, remove over a billion tons of pollution from our air, and produce hundreds of billions of dollars in benefits for the American people.

"At the same time, I have continued to underscore the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover.  With that in mind, and after careful consideration, I have requested that Administrator Jackson withdraw the draft Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards at this time. Work is already underway to update a 2006 review of the science that will result in the reconsideration of the ozone standard in 2013.  Ultimately, I did not support asking state and local governments to begin implementing a new standard that will soon be reconsidered.

"I want to be clear: my commitment and the commitment of my administration to protecting public health and the environment is unwavering. I will continue to stand with the hardworking men and women at the EPA as they strive every day to hold polluters accountable and protect our families from harmful pollution.  And my administration will continue to vigorously oppose efforts to weaken EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act or dismantle the progress we have made."

8/11 update:  At the end of July 2011 the EPA announced that the agency was once again delaying the release of its decision to reconsider the 2008 ozone standards. 

12/10 update:  EPA is delaying the release of the final ozone NAAQS until approximately October 31, 2011. 

Background as of 8/10:  Per Colorado Air Quality Control Commission Regulation No. 9 and as a standard condition of smoke permits, burning may not occur when an ozone alert is in effect for the area of the burn.  For purposes of ozone and smoke the state is currently divided into four zones shown on the map to the right.  What is required in each zone is described in an ozone memo. 

On his last day of leading Colorado’s Air Pollution Control Division, Paul Tourangeau signed and thereby finalized a series of incremental changes to Colorado’s smoke management program.  We wish Paul well in the job that lured him away from us.

Following is the memo’s cover paragraph, then a list of areas in which changes were made and are being implemented.

I have considered a list of incremental adjustments and changes to Colorado’s Smoke Management Program that staff developed prior to the HB1199 briefing in March and have been “in the pipeline.”  The proposals in this memo are consistent with my direction to APCD smoke staff to look for responsible and proactive ways to promote the use of prescribed fire while protecting air quality, and to make change in an incremental fashion consistent with experience, and weight of evidence.  I want to stress that the changes proposed today may have unexpected consequences and if needed will be adjusted further as feedback and input is taken into account over time. Change is not always linear nor in one direction. APCD will continue to generate incremental changes to the smoke management program as additional data and observations are attained.

1.  Very large piles

2.  Expansion of the types of burn projects eligible for approval during Denver metro’s winter high particulate season

3.  Increase daily acre limits in smoke sensitive areas

4.  Reduce buffer-size around smoke sensitive areas

5.  Changes on permit forms

6.  Monitoring and data collection

7.  Internal review of non-standard conditions permit applications with significantly less restrictive conditions

Help Shape the January Smoke Stakeholder Meeting (8/11)

Timed and located for the convenience of people attending the annual Rocky Mountain regional burn boss refresher, an open meeting for smoke program stakeholders will be offered the week of January 23, 2012.  We want your input about subjects you would like to discuss, whether you would rather meet about smoke before or after the burn boss meeting, and any other meeting particulars you would like to influence.

A general meeting for smoke program stakeholders was last held in November 2009.  Since then semi-annual stakeholder meetings focused on the program review required by HB09-1199.  Agency smoke liaisons and other permittee and public representatives helped craft the draft report in spring and again in fall of 2010.  Including APCD staff, fewer than a dozen people total attended subsequent public meetings in Denver and Grand Junction.  In March 2011 the report and smoke program were discussed at the Air Quality Control Commission monthly meeting.  Several permittees and federal land management agency regional staff made presentations or statements to the Commission.

December Air Commission Agenda Items Related to the Smoke Management Program (8/11)

1.  In September the Division will formally request that there be a public hearing at a future regular Commission meeting.  The December hearing will involve updating the percentages that each agency and entity pays of the total smoke program fees.  Regulation 9’s Appendix C requires this update occur every 3 years based on the previous 3 years of activity data (ie, permits and actual PM10 emissions).  If the request is granted, the hearing would likely be in December.  Materials for this hearing will be available in early September.

2.  The annual briefing to the Commission by the Air Division about the expected cost of the smoke management program in the upcoming year will apparently also be in December. At this time, the Division does not expect to request a change in the “cost of the program.”

3.  Also for December the Commission has scheduled a follow-up briefing regarding the status of implementation of the Division’s HB1199 recommendations.  The Commission requested a follow-up to the March 17, 2011 briefing that a number of you attended.

The hearing to update the percentages, the briefing on the cost of the program, and the briefing updating the Commission on the status of implementing HB1199 are all in December.

Database Housekeeping Underway (8/11)

Like making room for dog dishes before the puppy exists, we are remodeling our database in anticipation of connecting it to on-line reporting and permit applications.  Additional and more difficult hurdles lie in the path, already 6 or 7 years long, before we can offer web-based forms.  But we see encouraging indicators that continued headway may be a reasonable hope.  And in case mention of a new computer system sets off your conditioned expectations of confusion and trouble, we offer this reassurance;  we anticipate people who burn would always have the option to fax or email the same documents.

Meanwhile the database’s deep cleaning is coming along.  Here are weedy examples. 

• We’ve cut in two the table that holds a year’s permits.  One table now keeps overview information like the burn’s name and who is our contact.  Another table holds particulars about fuels, location, and permit terms.  Dividing the tables accommodates projects with split conditions.  For example, in a mix of co-located pile sizes more favorable smoke weather may be required for the larger piles than it is for the smaller ones.
• A new table lists county contacts who must be notified before ignition.  Our plan is to build automatic notification of County air quality contacts when a Notice of Ignition (Form D) is submitted on-line.  If so it would also let us accommodate the growing number of requests to notify more than one official per county.
• Data entry forms are being updated for the new structure and numerous new error warnings coded.  It is a faint hope these forms can be migrated directly to a web application.

Spring 2011 Broadcast Wrap-up (8/11)

Spring 2011 weather was difficult for prescribed burning.  As a burn boss who later did pull off a large project described, he wanted even one day between snow melt and green-up with no rain and no fire weather warning. 

There were a total of 57 burn days when at least one acre was ignited this spring in Colorado. 

• Ignition occurred on 28 projects and on 16 districts or similar agency units.  Yet again Gunnison public lands had the most project days of ignition.  Half(!) of this spring’s 57 days and a third of the acres statewide were theirs.
• Ten (17%) of the spring’s 57 broadcast burn days had a ventilation forecast that topped out at good, while the rest had very good or excellent.  On every broadcast burn day this spring dispersion exceeded fair.
• The total of slightly less than 7,000 acres similarly tells how few burns occurred this spring.  By smoke category, which corresponds roughly to fuel type, the breakout was

• 15% in grass / light;
• 64% in brush / brief; and
• 21% in understory / drainage potential. 
• The much-discussed highest smoke risk category had a bit part again, less than 1% of the total.  The highest risk category exists so that the drainage potential category is not more limited.

Also similar to most burn seasons in the last several years, on only three days did anyone burn at least 50% of the daily maximum standard acres.  That includes the handful of permits that had even higher acre limits. 

Key Days for Smoke Learning, Spring 2011

 Dan Ely, retiring smoke program manager, reminds burners that if dancing at the upper edge of their permitted acres happens on a particular burn day to be a key concern, to keep in mind that APCD has a 10% allowance for secondary or “bonus” acres.  The margin is intended to help manage risk and provide flexibility.

“A burn boss should never start ignition intending to exceed the permit limits.  But we encourage responsible work at the upper end of permits.  Especially if a project has no firelines we realize that occasionally careful burn bosses may still exceed permitted daily acres.” 

See the new program manual for details.

Succeeding Dan Ely who retires at the end of July, Pat McLaughlin is APCD's new Smoke Program Manager.  Pat has been involved in wildland and prescribed fire for twenty years. 

Pat is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, a fact that remains audible.  He majored in English and received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  He moved to Colorado in 1990 where he attended Colorado State University and earned his M.S. degree in Forestry in 1996.  While in school Pat worked two seasons for the Medicine Bow National Forest, served as the teaching assistant for the Fall Forestry Field Program at C.S.U.’s Pingree Park Campus, and worked for a year as a student hourly for the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) Golden District office. 

After attending CSU, Pat worked for Jefferson County Open Space as a Natural Resource Specialist for three years.  In 1999 he returned to the CSFS Golden District office, where he was a forester until this spring.  During his time at Golden Pat provided forestry assistance to public and private landowners and helped manage the prescribed fire program by planning and implementing broadcast and pile burns.  Pat was first certified as an RXB2 in 2003.  Ownerships where he helped to plan and implement burns include State Parks, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Jefferson County Open Space, Denver Mountain Parks, HOA common areas, and private forest lands. 

Pat’s familiarity with the Colorado Smoke Management Program began in 2001 when he detailed at Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for three months.  At the time the program’s one primary implementer, Coleen Campbell, was on family leave.  Pat looks forward to working with our partners and permittees to manage smoke responsibly, to encourage the use of prescribed fire where we can, and to protect air quality and public health in Colorado. 

On a personal note, Pat is a single father of a fifteen-year-old son who plays high school baseball.  Pat’s hobby is driving his son to games, practices, training sessions, camps, emergency rooms, etc.  In another year or two he will shift gears at home and wonder what to do with all his new-found time.

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As always, ...

Input is welcome.

Pat 303 692-3244

Coleen 303 692-3224

Sarah 303 916-1260