The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency opened a 45-day public comment period June 1 after introducing a proposal to reduce sulfur dioxide pollution in the Detroit area.
The EPA collaborated with Michigan and decided to improve the state’s air quality and combat sulfur dioxide emissions in Wayne County, according to a June 1 EPA news release. The EPA said they will consider public comments before finalizing the plan and will hold a virtual public hearing June 16.
“This means everyone in the area will breathe cleaner, healthier air, which is especially helpful for vulnerable populations and overburdened communities,” Environmental Protection Agency's Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore said, according to the release. “While this plan is an important step forward for addressing sulfur dioxide air pollution, it is not the end of our work on air pollution in Detroit. Michigan and EPA are actively working on reducing other pollutants in the area.”
Sulfer dioxide pollution was discovered by Zug Island near an industrial building.
| Patrick Hendry/Unsplash
According to the release, the proposal places a cap on U.S. Steel emissions which would result in Wayne County meeting the air quality standard permanently.
“EGLE greatly appreciates its partnership with EPA,” EGLE Director Liesl Clark said, according to the release. “These past few years of coordinated efforts have produced meaningful reductions in SO2 levels in a community that for too long has borne the unnecessary burden of this pollutant.”
The release states EPA modeling has showed evidence of sulfur dioxide pollution near an industrial area called Zug Island, where steel and other industrial sources can be found.
“We are pleased that our air quality monitors are showing the positive impacts of this hard work and that citizens can begin to see the benefits of the air quality that they deserve,” Clark said, according to the release.
