Pollutants decline in county and beyond

Lu Hu, assistant professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Montana, said very seldom do people consider a state like Montana when they think about air pollution. The state typically is known more for its abundant rivers and immense mountains than for smog.

Large metropolitan areas teeming with industrial activity, heavy traffic and dense populations such as Los Angeles, New York City or Chicago more often come to mind as places where air pollution may lurk.

“Before I moved here [to Montana] I used to joke with my friends about how there couldn’t possibly be a lot of pollution in this beautiful state,” Hu said. “And there has been improvement, but still, I was amazed at what I found.”

Hu and other researchers say the Big Sky state is no stranger to the struggle of monitoring and improving air quality — a process monitored closely by federal and state agencies that is continually developing. From natural sources of pollution such as wildfires to car emissions and industrial polluters, the emissions stem from multiple sources.

One way of tracking these sources is through data from air-quality permits granted to facilities by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. The permits, issued by way of the Clean Air Act of 1970, allow facilities to emit a certain amount of pollutants into the air. The department regulates major hazardous emissions including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter.

“Levels of certain pollutants in the atmosphere need to stay below a certain level to protect the health of human beings and their welfare,” said Hoby Rash, an air-quality supervisor with the Department of Environmental Quality. “How can we implement a program that allows industry and commercial development to occur? That’s the balancing point of the permits.”

And permitted facilities vary from county to county, based on industries specific to their area.

In Flathead County, wood products and power generation makes up the lion’s share of the county’s overall permitted emissions, followed by incinerators. In total, sources linked to pollutants collectively emitted about 1,422 tons of pollutants in 2017.

By comparison, Fallon County in the southeastern corner of Montana showed petroleum and petroleum production as the only sources linked to emissions, which produced about 140 tons of pollutants that year. Rosebud County, west of Miles City, is the worst-ranked county in the state for emissions by permit holders for multiple years running; mines and power generation in that county curated almost 30,000 tons of emissions in 2017 alone.

Overall, Flathead County ranks No. 8 in the state for pollutants.

And at first blush, the numbers may appear jarring, but two main takeaways can be gleaned from permit data: they are only glimpses into statewide pollution and most of Montana has seen a steady decrease in overall air pollutants regardless of population and economic growth.

Trends show consistent decline in pollutants.

In the face of a growing population and economy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency numbers show there has been steady decline in overall air pollutants from permit holders nationwide, and Montana is on par with that trend.

“There are a whole array of reasons why this is true and there are all kinds of contributing factors,” Rash said. “But overall this process [permitting] works.”

According to the federal agency, emissions of air toxins declined by 68 percent from 1990 to 2014, an improvement “largely driven by federal and state implementation of stationary and mobile source regulations and technological advancements.”

From 2016 to 2017, Montana continued the decline, from just over 67,465 tons of emissions down to 65,857 tons. Data from 2018 is expected to be released this spring, and the trend of decreased emissions is expected to continue.

While Hu and Rash both say the state agency’s permit system has contributed to the decline, technology also plays an important factor.

In Flathead County, one of the largest emitters is the timber industry; Weyerhaeuser and F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. operate the biggest production facilities in the county. Both companies tout the importance of environmental stewardship and both have worked to uphold that promise.

According to Chuck Roady, vice president and general manager of Stoltze, one of the most significant efforts put forth in recent years by the company has been the construction of its new boiler system that supplies steam to dry kilns and a new power generation turbine.

“The new technology that we incorporated into our system greatly reduces all emissions, both particulates [particulate matter] and carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide gases,” Roady said.

Weyerhaeuser, which has facilities based in Columbia Falls and Evergreen, matches those strides.

“Weyerhaeuser has been committed to sustainability and environmental stewardship for more than a century,” said Tom Ray, resources team leader for Weyerhaeuser. “We’re always looking for ways to reduce emissions at our facilities and our goal is to continually improve our performance over time.”

Ray said the company has introduced state-of-the-art technology such as electrostatic precipitators and biofilters.

Data show both companies have decreased pollutants over the years. In Flathead County alone, permitted emissions decreased from about 1,423 tons to about 1,422 tons from 2016 to 2017.

But adjusting to permit regulations hasn’t come without its challenges.

“Trying to stay abreast of the ever-changing rules and regulations, while being able to afford and incorporate the latest technology it takes to meet standards within the allowed time frames” is a challenge, Roady said when asked about obstacles Stoltze and the timber industry have faced.

According to Ray and Roady, both companies consistently operate within compliance standards set forth by the state.

Rash said the Department of Environmental Quality closely monitors and inspects 1,800 or so facilities statewide.

“There is a whole matrix of factors we are going to look at to make sure these facilities are in compliance with their permits,” Rash said.

Companies will often work through an independent contractor that monitors emissions from the facilities and then reports to the department. When facilities want to adjust their permits or introduce a new piece of equipment, they must relay the modifications, and for those that don’t comply with regulations set forth, the department will enact various penalties.

Permits are only a glimpse of the overall pollution.

Tony Ward, a professor with the University of Montana’s School of Public and Community Health Sciences, has been in the state for more than two decades. He said natural causes, especially in recent years, have paced with or outpaced facility pollutants.

“Wildfires are starting earlier and burning longer and are one of the largest contributors to Montana’s pollution,” Ward said. “This is something that is directly related to climate change and isn’t necessarily something we can control.”

And Hu agrees, that smoke from Montana wildfires and other states that drifts over ours, make up a large percentage of our state’s pollutants.

“I was amazed at what wildfires could do to the air quality in Montana,” Hu said.

In 2018, the Howe Ridge Fire topped the list of wildfires, consuming over 14,000 acres. The fire, combined with smoke from fires elsewhere, launched an air-quality alert to counties including Flathead, Lake, and Lincoln beginning on Aug. 14, 2018.

State reports show the alert continued for nearly two weeks, acknowledging residents of unhealthy air standards and requesting “sensitive groups,” which include infants and those with respiratory diseases, limit exposure.

Hu pointed to car emissions as another big source, while Ward addressed wood-burning stoves, a prevalent source of emissions for particulate matter.

“There are things we do every day that contribute to our pollution,” Ward said. “Wood-burning stoves are huge here and in the winter months you can look out over parts of the state and see the haze from everyone burning their stoves day in and day out.”

Overall, permitted facilities are only a small part of the state’s pollution. But education and state officials say that, in general, the decline in pollutants, particularly man-made pollutants should continue.

“It is important to acknowledge the state’s role in this,” Ward said. “The permitting, which is only one leg in decreasing pollutants, is a process that appears to be working.”

Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4439 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com