Wichita area residents can breathe a sigh of relief over the release of an ozone air quality report this month by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE).

After a summer of concern that area ozone levels might exceed federal standards, KDHE reports that unseasonably cool and wet weather kept levels well below federal standards.

By staying within “attainment” levels of ozone measurement, the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) avoids potential economic penalties that would result from enforcement actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Wichita MSA includes more than 570,000 persons in communities in the counties of Sedgwick, Sumner, Butler and Harvey.

The federal government recently tightened ozone standards, and previous measurements in the Wichita MSA were dangerously close to exceeding the new standards.

Those concerns fueled an area-wide campaign to raise public awareness about the problem, and encouraged citizens to take action to minimize the creation of ozone. In a promotional video on the City of Wichita’s cable channel, Wichita City Council members urged citizens to maintain proper tire pressure, conserve energy and use proper procedures when re-fueling their vehicles. The video can be viewed on-line at http://www.wichita.gov/CityOffices/Environmental/AirQuality/

Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer applauded the community for its participation in the ozone reduction campaign.

“The economic and health risks of not meeting the ozone standards were well recognized by our businesses, industry and citizens,” Mayor Brewer said. “The cooperative effort to meet this challenge demonstrates our community’s commitment to a clean and healthy environment.”

 “The Wichita area and the entire state of Kansas had an extremely cool and wet ozone season this year,” wrote Rick Brunetti, KDHE director of the Bureau of Air and Radiation. “This led to very low ozone monitored values across the region, including the three monitors in the Wichita metropolitan area.”

KDHE will now recommend to the federal EPA that the area be designated as being within “attainment”, Brunetti said.

Although the community is within acceptable ozone levels for now, the public education campaign must continue to ensure compliance, according to Kay Johnson, City of Wichita Director of Environmental Services.

“The new EPA standards will challenge our community each summer,” she said. “Our success this year was because many local companies and other organizations such as the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, made efforts this year to bring attention to the issue and to reduce ozone pollutants.”

The City of Wichita also is sponsoring a Clean Air Award contest to recognize individuals who made significant contributions to the battle for low ozone levels. For more information, visit the Environmental Services section.

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