IDEM: Chicago is polluting our air

"The No. 1 contributor (to ozone problems in Lake and Porter counties) is Chicago," Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner Tom Easterly said in a recent Portage appearance.

Not so fast, an Illinois public heath expert counters.

While Chicago contributes twice as much ozone pollution to the region as Indiana, the city also has five times more residents than Lake and Porter counties combined. Brian Urbaszewski, of the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago, says Indiana is far more worried about industrial growth than the health of its citizens.

"It's pretty clear they view those (clean-air standards) as impediments and want to make it cheaper and easier to expand, especially polluting industries," Urbaszewski said.

Official: Chicago at fault for air quality

Emissions from cars and trucks on Chicago roads, and boats on Lake Michigan, lead to Northwest Indiana having its worst air on hot days, a top Indiana official said.

Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner Tom Easterly supports his contention, showing models that use weather patterns to determine where pollution comes from.

The models indicate the geographical sources of the pollution as well as the sources -- for instance industry, boats, road traffic and air deposition -- for pollution measured by monitors in Hammond; Michigan City; Whiting; Holland, Mich.; and near the Illinois-Wisconsin border.

The model for Hammond showed 8 percent of the ozone came from Lake and Porter counties while 17 percent came from the Chicago area.

States battle over ozone

Lake and Porter counties are designated as nonattainment of federal ozone levels, but the Indiana Department of Environmental Management has petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to re-designate the area.

Illinois objected out of fear a redesignation of Northwest Indiana would negatively affect air quality in Illinois.

Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health programs with the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago said Indiana adds a proportionately larger share -- but denies responsibility in a bid to increase industrial development.

"A big new proposal, like the BP refinery expansion, could face looser regulations and could wind up polluting more under an attainment designation than they would otherwise," Urbaszewski said.

"It's pretty clear that Indiana wants to get into attainment status so that some requirements are removed from development. It's pretty clear they view those as impediments and want to make it cheaper and easier to expand, especially polluting industries," he said.

Companies that want to expand or build new emission sources in a county that isn't in attainment are subject to more stringent requirements and have to prove that any increases will be offset by decreases elsewhere.

When a county is in attainment, companies only have to prove they're doing the best they can by using best available technology. That is "sometimes less stringent" of a requirement because it takes cost and environmental effects into account, Easterly said.

To be redesignated, Lake and Porter counties must register below federal standards three years in a row. After nearly three years of acceptable readings, the Whiting monitor measured levels that were too high this summer, which will most likely prevent the redesignation, Easterly said.

"We cannot do it based on the data we had. We're going to have to look at what '08 looks like," Easterly said.

Urbaszewski questioned whether Indiana would be able to meet the tighter ozone standards EPA is expected to adopt in a few months when it's having problems meeting the current standards.

Public transit an answer?

The large impact of traffic on air quality makes a good argument for extending the South Shore railroad to reduce car traffic, said Lee Botts, a Gary resident and environmental activist.

The Northwest Indiana Commuter Transportation District is still calculating how many passengers the proposed extension would take off the road.

With a 2006 ridership of 4.2 million passengers, the current South Shore line is estimated to have taken about 3.5 million passengers off the road in one year, said NICTD spokesman John Parsons. That eliminated an estimated 425 tons of emissions annually.

According to the Hammond model, boats contributed nearly as much pollution as road traffic. Easterly said he hopes Indiana will reduce emissions.

"My goal is, we're going to get a reduction equal to our percentage of the problem, but I'm not sure that's going to happen," he said.