As the lead air-quality planning agency for the region, the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments develops air-quality programs and strategies to remain in compliance with state and federal air quality standards. If the air quality in a geographic area meets or does better than the national standard, it is called an attainment area; areas that don’t meet the national standard are called nonattainment areas. Through PPACG’s Air Quality Planning programs, and collaboration with PPACG member jurisdictions and the community, we work to attain the standards for criteria air pollutants throughout the region.
What are the six criteria air pollutants?
The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards, also referred to as NAAQS, for six commonly found air pollutants which can be harmful to public health and the environment. These six commonly found air pollutants are known as “criteria air pollutants.” These include:
Status of Air Quality in the Pikes Peak Region
Currently, the PPACG air quality planning region is below the NAAQS federal standards for the six criteria air pollutants. However, the region has a history of previously being in non-attainment for carbon monoxide (CO) and is could potentially be designated as non-attainment on air quality standards for ozone in the near future.
The Pikes Peak region has two certified air pollutant sensors in the region which collect emissions data for ozone and particulate matter.
The National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone is measured by calculating the 8-hour average ozone concentration. To determine this, monitoring stations record ozone levels continuously, and the fourth-highest eight-hour average readings over a three-year period are used to determine compliance with the standard. This calculation is known as the Ozone Design Value, commonly expressed as ODV or simply DV. An area is considered compliant if the ODV does not exceed the set standard, currently at 70 parts per billion (ppb).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for harmful pollutants, per the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Every five years the EPA is required to reevaluate the NAAQS to ensure adequate protection of human health and the environment, based on the best available science. In the graph below, you can see the timeline of revised standards including:
- 1990 standard of 125 parts per billion (ppb) was revised to 84 ppb. in 1997
- 1997 standard of 84 ppb was revised to 75 ppb. in 2008
- 2008 standard of 75 ppb was revised to 70 ppb in 2015
- The 2015 standard of 70 ppb is the most recent standard in effect
The graph below shows the Pikes Peak region’s Ozone Design Values (ODVs) since 1997, alongside the ozone NAAQS (EPA’s air quality standard for ozone). An upward trend in regional ozone concentrations can be observed.
For more information on ozone and what you can do to help, see the Ozone Awareness page.
Ozone Advance Program
In 2020, the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments joined the EPA’s Ozone Advance Program. This program was established by the EPA in 2012 and is a voluntary, collaborative initiative between EPA, state and local governments to address ground-level ozone and particle pollution. The program is designed to assist areas currently in attainment for NAAQS, meeting air quality standards for ozone and Particulate Matter set by the Clean Air Act.
In 2021, PPACG developed the Pikes Peak Region Ozone Advance Plan (.pdf). The plan, linked below, captures a variety of very high-level initiatives, also called control measures, that the Region collectively decided would help to make progress in improved air quality and continue to meet the Air Quality Standards for Ozone and Particulate Matter (PM). These control measures broadly include:
- Outreach and Education
- Data Collection
- Administrative tasks (such as apply for funding; research project opportunities; hiring interns; and partner collaborations)
Since development of the plan and joining the Ozone Advance Program, PPACG has provided annual updates to the EPA detailing our progress with initiatives that positively impact air pollution in the region.