ARS | Publication request: OVERVIEW OF THE COLUMBIA PLATEAU AIR QUALITY PROJECT

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 20, 2003
Publication Date: June 20, 2003
Citation: Sharratt, B.S., Saxton, K.E., Schillinger, W.F. 2003. Overview of the Columbia Plateau Air Quality Project. Soil & Water Conservation Society Annual Meeting. Abstract.

Technical Abstract: The amendments to the Clean Air Act in 1990 required the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Several locations within the Columbia Plateau failed to meet the PM10 standard. Agriculture was thought to be a major contributor to nonattainment of this standard, thus federal and state regulatory and research agencies began working together in 1991 to identify the contribution of agriculture to PM10 and develop land management control strategies. Little was known concerning the magnitude of emissions and control methods to reduce emissions from agricultural soils when formal meetings among scientists in the Pacific Northwest began in 1992. A research plan with eight broad objectives was developed to provide a physical understanding of PM10 emissions from soils and identify potential control strategies. The plan, or the Columbia Plateau Wind Erosion / Air Quality Project, was funded by the EPA and Washington State Department of Ecology in 1993. Since then, the plan has broadened to 11 objectives and subsequent funding has been provided by a special grant through USDA-CSREES. About 15 proposals are funded each year that enhance the understanding and control of PM10 emissions and that promote outreach educational programs within the Columbia Plateau. The Columbia Plateau Wind Erosion / Air Quality Project has produced voluminous information contained in more than 10 books or book chapters and more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles.