News Release 156

DEPARTMENT AWARDS SUBGRANT FOR
OZONE DATA SHARING PROJECT IN ST. LOUIS

Volume 36-156

Contact: Renee Bungart

(For immediate release)

573-751-4465

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MARCH 24, 2008 -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has awarded a $9,770 subgrant to the East-West Gateway Council of Governments in St. Louis. The money will fund further ozone data sharing between air quality planners in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

The department has funded this ozone data sharing project since 1994.  The $9,770 subgrant is funded with $7,523 in federal funding and $2,247 in other fees. The Department of Natural Resources, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the St. Louis County and the city of St. Louis' Air Pollution Control Programs operate and maintain the monitors that collect the ozone data throughout the metropolitan area. The timeframe for this project coincides with the ozone season, April 1 through Oct. 31.

The East-West Gateway Council of Governments acts as the repository for daily ozone data gathered by each participating agency from its pollutant monitoring system during the ozone season.  This data is then shared between all agencies involved.

"This shared ozone data is important because it allows for consistent data to be used by all air-quality planners in the St. Louis metropolitan area," said Leanne Tippett Mosby, deputy director for the department's Division of Environmental Quality, "These efforts will further assist in the development of pollution-control strategies for the area."

Ozone is of particular concern in the St. Louis area as the city and surrounding counties have continued difficulty attaining the eight-hour ozone standard. Exposure to ground-level ozone, or smog, can contribute to health problems. Those who suffer from asthma, heart disease, emphysema and other respiratory diseases can experience increased breathing difficulty. Long-term exposure to high levels of ozone can even cause healthy adults, especially those who exercise or work outdoors, to experience breathing difficulty.

Since the 1977 amendments to the Clean Air Act, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments has served as the leading air quality-planning agency for the St. Louis Metropolitan area.  With the adoption of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, both the state of Illinois and the state of Missouri have been required to develop ozone control plans for the St. Louis area. The plans are also known as state implementation plans.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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