Official reports air quality improvements in DFW

Sep. 20—North Central Texas air quality continued a slow tick in the healthy direction this summer despite record heat and a relentless wildfire season.

That's according to Chris Klaus, senior program manager for transportation at the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

"We're at a time when we've got some of the cleanest air in Northeast Texas," Klaus said, adding he arrived at the COG four years after passage of the 1990 Clean Air Act. "The emissions, yes, have just continuously, somewhat steadily, been going down."

He also pointed out that's been happening during decades that swelled the greater DFW Metroplex population from about 6 million to 7.6 million residents in the 2020 Census. That's more than one quarter of the state's total — and more than one-fourth of vehicle emissions.

Getting better

Locally, however, some traditional sources of ozone pollution are spouting significantly lower emissions from industrial smokestacks.

Cement kiln operators increasingly are switching from wet cement production to a cleaner dry process, Klaus said.

"(Kilns) have changed a lot of their operations over the years," he said. "They worked with the state to modify their emissions. Then, you've got power plants. For the most part, coal (burning) plants have been modified or taken off line."

As coal power plants are aging out, newer plants increasingly rely on much cleaner natural gas to create electricity, though prices for the commodity have climbed from around $2.50 per million British Thermal Units to around $9 per MMBtu.

That, in turn, has helped drive the development of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power.

The news from Klaus is good on that front, too.

"Even though the electric generation has gone largely to natural gas ... 20 percent of the electricity is solar and wind power," he said. "Diversifying the portfolio is important."

The North Central Texas region is not in attainment with the Clean Air Act ozone standard. Nonattainment comes in marginal, severe and extreme degrees. The Dallas/Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston/Galveston and San Antonio regions are classified as in marginal nonattainment.

Tougher standard

Klaus said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will announce on Sept. 15 whether it will set a tougher ozone standard for nonattainment status. Today's standard of 80 parts ozone per billion parts of air could tighten to 70 ppb, he said.

Parker County's ozone monitor, on New Authon Road in Weatherford, recorded 68 ppb in 2020, 67 ppb in 2021 and so far this ozone season posted a high reading of 73 ppb.

"Your reading is 73 this year, and we're only in September," Klaus said, adding the area is in jeopardy of being reclassified from "serious" nonattainment to "severe."

"That'll trigger the state to develop a new plan," he said.

Ozone season informally is considered as from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but in reality it extends into November, council of governments spokesman Brian Wilson said.

Nonattainmet is determined on a rigorous calculation — it's the average of the four worst readings during a three-year span.

Nonattainment status can choke off the flow of federal transportation dollars and trigger stricter vehicle emissions standards drivers must meet on their annual auto inspections.

"Every vehicle that's in a nonattainment county, whether it is 24 years old or newer also is subject to an emissions test," Klaus said.

Summer of drought

In July, roughly the eastern third of Parker County was listed in exceptional drought on the Texas Water Development Board's Water Weekly email. That's the worst level on the five-step monitor.

The rest of the county, as well as all but the northwest third of Palo Pinto County, were one step better, in the extreme drought category.

Wildfires plagued Texas during July and August, and in Palo Pinto County the 1148 and Dempsey fires chewed up tens of thousands of dry acres.

Those blazes were among 8,881 wildfires Texas Forest Service firefighters battled alongside local crews including Mineral Wells Fire/EMS.

The Water Weekly report for this past week placed all of Parker and most of Palo Pinto counties in severe drought. Roughly the southwestern half of Palo Pinto County was in extreme drought.

Palo Pinto County took advantage of long-awaited significant rainfall during the Labor Day weekend to lift its burn ban. Parker County remains under a burn ban, though the fire marshal has the authority to lift it on a day-to-day basis.

The National Weather Service reported no rain fell in the Weatherford area the first 21 days of August, a streak broken by 2.75 inches of precipitation on Aug. 22.

The sky held off the remainder of the month until a third of an inch was recorded Labor Day weekend.

What is ozone?

Ground-level ozone forms when nitrogen oxides mix with volatile organic compounds on hot, still days.

Nitrogen oxides are produced by industrial smokestacks, vehicle exhaust and hot, still weather. Volatile organic compounds come from natural and manmade sources including paint stripper and other solvents, aerosol sprays, plant and animal respiration and organic decomposition.

And while a layer of ozone in the upper atmosphere protects Earth from the sun's most intense rays, its formation on the ground can cause respiratory problems and other ailments.

That's especially true for vulnerable populations including children, the elderly, anyone with asthma or cardiopulmonary disorder and pregnant women.

More commonly known as smog, ground-level ozone is the evil twin of a form of pollution called particulate matter, which is better known as soot or haze. Particulates are microscopic particles released into the air and include dust, smoke (think, wildfires) and even mold spores.

Help from the weather

And while strong winds can make a hot day feel like a hot day under a blow dryer, breezes that typified a lot of mid-summer afternoon probably lowered local ozone and particulate levels.

"Usually when you get certain variables in the atmosphere, ozone just stays stagnant," National Weather Service Meteorologist Patricia Sanchez said. "It doesn't get mixed in with the atmosphere. Even though it's blowing hot air, at least it's blowing. That at least helps with mixing everything."

Speaking from the weather service office in Fort Worth, Sanchez urged people to keep water close at hand — and give a drink to the mailman, the delivery driver.

"When you have people working outside of your house, check them," she said. "Make sure they have water. ... In Texas, we're kind of used to the heat of the summer. Stay hydrated. Even if you're not thirsty drink plenty of water. Kind of know your body and the symptoms of heat illness: you get a little dizzy, and your eyes get blurry, heavy sweating, nausea and confusion. Heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke, at which point it can happen really fast."

Sanchez said the world is in a La Nina weather pattern, caused by a wind-driven contrast in ocean temperatures. One effect is a northern shift in the upper level jet stream, which results in drier and hotter patterns for the southern United States.

La Nina is expected to prevail into 2023, which means the coming winter could be mild and dry.

"From December, January, February 2023, temperatures evolve into the kind of mild winter above normal," she said.