How can county end up on EPA list?

Through a strange set of circumstances, Custer County has ended up on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of potential air quality violators. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe when you gaze around at our near-pristine skies. Sure, we have a little smoke lingering from time to time from controlled burns or slash piles burning, but a little wind usually takes care of that.

But, earlier this month our county really did end up on a list of counties in our country that may end up in violation of stricter proposed EPA limits for ground-level ozone levels. And we are the only county on such a list so far in the entire state. We beat out much larger populated counties like Minnehaha, which includes Sioux Falls, and Pennington, which includes Rapid City. How is this possible?

Well, according to Brad Schultz, senior air quality scientist at the state’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), it has to do with hourly measurements coming from the state’s monitoring site just west of the visitor center at Wind Cave National Park, which is in Custer County. A sampling probe pulls air into the green-colored shelter. These air sample readings are taken in parts per billion and transmitted via a phone line to Pierre where they are recorded. The daily reading recorded is the highest eight hour average for the day. This air quality testing started at Wind Cave National Park in 2005, Schultz said.

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