Wisconsinites who live near Rhinelander can breathe easier now, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released last month.
Analyses of air-quality monitoring data show that amounts of sulfur dioxide in the region have fallen and now meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) to protect human health and the environment, the EPA announced Jan. 12. In addition to lower sulfur dioxide concentrations, the Rhinelander region also meets all other standards for all air pollutants regulated under the NAAQS, the EPA states in the announcement.
“People in the Rhinelander area are breathing cleaner, healthier air due to EPA’s partnership with the state of Wisconsin,” EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore said in the anouncement. “Reducing sulfur dioxide pollution in the air is especially helpful for vulnerable populations.”
EPA officials credit collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for reaching the sulfur dioxide standards for air quality in the region, including enforcement of strict emissions limits and WDNR's work with the Ahlstron-Munksjo paper mill in Rhinelander.
Air-quality data gathered in 2013 found the area around Rhinelander was not meeting air-quality standards set by the Clean Air Act, according to reporting by the Northwoods Star Journal. Analyses of the data determined the Ahlstrom-Rhinelander paper mill to be "primarily responsible" for the sulfur dioxide emissions, the Star Journal reports
Officials with WDNR, in cooperation with administrators at the mill, instituted improved emissions controls, enforced stricter emissions limits, retired four coal boilers and reduced coal sulfur content at the mill, the EPA reports. Concentrations of sulfur dioxide decreased by more than 75%, resulting in the area's air quality to meet NAAQS beginning in the 2018, according to WDNR,
The improvements in air quality in the Rhinelander region allows the EPA to redesignate the region to attainment of air-quality standards and to approve of WDNR's plan to maintain acceptable standards going forward.
“Extensive collaboration between EPA, the Wisconsin DNR and the Ahlstrom-Munksjo Paper Mill led to this important air quality outcome," Gail Good, WDNR acting Environmental Management Division Administrator said in the announcement..
"With this redesignation, all of Wisconsin is attaining the sulfur dioxide air quality standards," Good said.
