Future Challenges in Montana
How Montana communities manage growth and development in the next few decades will have an important impact on the future of air quality. As the state approaches a population of one million, counties will face new and challenging issues. Between 1990 and 1996, Montana's population increased by 10.1 percent. As of 1996, high-growth counties were generally located in western Montana, where growth rates were as follows:
- Flathead (20 percent),
- Gallatin (20 percent),
- Lake (18 percent,)
- Ravalli (34 percent), and
- Sanders (17 percent).
Other rapidly growing counties included Carbon (15 percent), Broadwater (21 percent), Jefferson (22 percent), and Yellowstone (11 percent). With this population growth, Montana can anticipate air quality impacts from increased transportation and land use demands. Of the 16 ambient air quality nonattainment areas in Montana, 10 of them are located in counties that have experienced more than a 12 percent growth rate. Communities can use planning for growth to minimize adverse impacts to air quality.
Fine Particulate Matter
Recent revisions to the federal air quality standards and the Regional Haze Rule include an emphasis on fine particulate matter. PM-2.5 is primarily the result of industrial burning, tailpipe emissions, and smoke from wood stoves, and open and prescribed burning. The new PM-2.5 air quality standards will emphasize control measures for these sources. Because total industrial activity in Montana has not changed substantially in recent years, PM-2.5 emissions from existing industries will continue to be addressed through the permit review and/or the SIP processes.
Working with the Montana Department of Transportation, DEQ is trying to create air quality programs that focus on lowering vehicle emissions and people's reliance on vehicles. By promoting alternative transportation such as walking, bicycling, and mass transit, Montana's citizens and tourists can reduce transportation's impact on air pollution. Mobile sources produce 80 to 90 percent of all area source emissions including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and precursors to ozone. Even though today's vehicles produce about 10 times less pollution than models available 25 years ago, the increase in the number of vehicles on Montana's roads and highways will offset these emissions savings. If gasoline remains relatively inexpensive, Montanans and their visitors can be expected to continue to drive more often, for longer distances, and with only one person per vehicle, putting the future of Montana's air quality at risk.
The current land use development trend is to spread out, which creates a phenomenon known as suburban sprawl. This kind of development requires large amounts of land and infrastructure, creating traffic congestion, construction of more paved and unpaved roads, and other threats to air quality. DEQ continues to encourage land uses that let people walk or use mass transit, rather than relying on their cars for mobility. This includes supporting central business district developments instead of suburban sprawl and supporting higher density housing in downtown areas, which reduces people's commute to work and shop. If just one-half of the expected new growth in Montana were more compact, developments would require at least 25 percent less land. Higher density developments are easier to connect with mass transit and encourage people to walk or bicycle to their destinations. These strategies have other benefits, including fewer vehicle expenses, lower infrastructure costs, and more diverse and affordable housing.
Other air quality concerns in Montana involve open and prescribed burning. Many federal, tribal, and state forestry managers plan to increase the use of fire to create resource benefits on public lands. Many forest ecosystems are unhealthy as a result of past management strategies that prevented wildfires. Although open and prescribed burning can benefit forests and lower the risk of wildfires, a natural by-product of any burning is smoke. Because smoke is primarily made of particulate matter that is harmful to human health and impairs visibility, this trend will have an adverse effect on Montana's air quality. Because of the long transport distance of smoke as it drifts between state and national boundaries, control efforts are difficult. Open and prescribed burning in Montana can adversely affect neighboring states, just as similar circumstances in neighboring states can affect Montana's air quality.
In addition to open and prescribed burning,
smoke from accidental fires, such as this
recent fire in Helena, can release large
amounts of harmful particulate matter
in a short period of time.
