Does El Paso meet air quality standards?

An ongoing campaign by the Texas Department of Transportation urges the public to “drive clean” by reducing vehicle emissions into the environment.

In a news release TXDoT reported that El Paso, along with other Texas cities, do not meet federal clean air standards.

ABC-7 reached out to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to find out what is keeping El Paso from meeting federal standards.

TCEQ officials said air quality levels are recorded every three years and El Paso did meet federal requirements at last check. The levels are validated every year, and the numbers have been recorded as near or below the threshold, forcing the city of El Paso and TCEQ to submit an action plan to reduce pollution in the air.

The quality of air is measured through two major categories, ozone and particulate matter.

Ozone pollution comes from things like power plants and vehicles. Particulate matter is the dust and dirt in the air.

“The particulate matter standard is the one that’s been most challenging and problematic,” said David Brymer, director of the TCEQ Air Quality Division.

Particulate matter measures dust storms and natural occurrences, something TCEQ cannot control.

The city’s proximity to Mexico also plays a role in the amount of pollution in the air.

Brymer said ozone levels in El Paso have “greatly been reduced” in the last several decades.

Ozone is formed when there is an abundance of sunlight, lower wind speeds and emissions of nitrogen oxide. Nitrogen oxide emissions are caused by the combustion of fossil fuels created by power plants and mobile sources like cars, buses, 18-wheelers and cement trucks.

The EPA reported ozone pollution decreased statewide by 29 percent from 2000 to 2014, but summertime ozone levels remain a concern with vehicle emissions making up half of all air pollution in some areas of the state.

Brymer said mobile sources contribute to more than 70% of nitrogen oxide emissions in the El Paso area.

In past years, El Paso has not met federal guidelines prompting an action plan with TCEQ that has to be aproved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Donna Huff, a manager for the TCEQ office of air, said drivers in El paso are required and annual inspection and emission testing of their vehicles.

Huff said the city also has paving requirements for parking lots to reduce the amount of dirt and dust into the air.

“We work really hard with the city over the years to implement things that will hopefully brings us into attainment,” Huff said.