Today I attended the meeting for Non-attainment Area Boundaries in Davenport put on by the DNR. Rachel Griffiths and Clifford Day, Sierra members, also attended. Jim McGraw and several other DNR officials conducted the meeting. Other attendees were: Mayor Gluba, Pet De Cock from Representative Braley's office and a room full of business representatives. Scott and Muscatine counties have areas which exceed air quality limits according to monitors placed by the DNR. This meeting addressed issues in Scott county only. Another meeting for Muscatine county will be held tomorrow. According to the Clean Air Act, non attainment areas must come into compliance by 2014. The area in Scott county is less than one square mile in southwest Davenport. One of the monitors, about 300 feet from Blackhawk Foundry property, shows the highest concentration of particulate matter. The meeting lasted from 1 PM until 3:40 PM. The DNR talked about complicated things that affect monitor readings such as wind, seasonal differences, population areas, and traffic flows. There was a lot of technical talk about fine particulate matter and coarse PM. Fine particular matter is up to 2.5 microns in diameter while coarse is 10 microns. I asked if the polluters were fined if their monitor reading exceeded the limits. They are not fined and the DNR works with the polluters to solve the problems and to make sure the readings reflect the actual conditions. The DNR allowed an hour for the stake holders to show their power point presentation of their side of the issue. Stake holders were Alcoa, Grain Processing, Bi State Regional Planning and Blackhawk Foundry. Their position was the DNR should give them a one year extension while the DNR analyzes all the science and factors affecting the monitoring. They say a non attainment designation is inappropriate for Scott and Muscatine counties and that the monitors are source located. The business folks also said the readings can be effected by local "upset conditions" like wild fires, agriculture dust, disasters, like tornadoes and transported pollution like tire wear and brake dust from highway traffic. They claimed health is important but DNR needs to better evaluate the causes of pollution, and follow federal standards for monitoring. A representative for Bi State Regional Planning said air quality in Scott county has actually improved in the last ten years. (?) The DNR did not respond to the group's statements. Jerry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to: [log in to unmask] Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/