Region 2: State Designations
Boundary Designations for 8-hour Ozone Standard - EPA Region 2
(as of November 14, 2007)
State Area Name Counties April 15, 2004 Classification Maximum
Attainment Date
(from June 15, 2004) Current/Proposed Classification Resdesignation Effective Date
New Jersey
New York-N. New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT
Map (PDF) (1 p, 227KB) Bergen
Essex
Hudson
Hunterdon
Middlesex
Monmouth
Morris
Passaic
Somerset
Sussex
Union
Warren Moderate June 2010 Moderate -
Philadelphia - Wilmington, Atlantic City, PA-DE-MD-NJ
Map (PDF) (1 p, 193KB) Atlantic
Cape May
Burlington
Camden
Cumberland
Gloucester
Mercer
Salem
Ocean Moderate June 2010 Moderate -
New York (1)
Jamestown, NY
Map (PDF) (1 p, 32KB) Chautauqua Basic June 2009 Basic -
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
Map (PDF) (1 p, 36KB) Erie
Niagara Basic June 2009 Basic -
Rochester, NY
Map (PDF) (1 p, 48KB) Genesee
Livingston
Monroe
Ontario
Orleans
Wayne Basic June 2009 Basic -
Syracuse, NY (2)
Cayuga
Madison
Onondaga
Oswego Unclassifiable - Attainment 6/14/06
Jefferson Co, NY
Map (PDF) (1 p, 39KB) Jefferson Moderate June 2010 Moderate -
Essex Co, NY (Whiteface Mountain)
Map (PDF) (1 p, 29KB) Essex (P) Basic June 2009 Basic -
Albany-
Schenectady-Troy, NY
Map (PDF) (1 p, 99KB) Albany
Greene
Montgomery
Rensselaer
Saratoga
Schenectady
Schoharie Basic June 2009 Basic -
New York-N. New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT
Map (PDF) (1 p, 227KB) Bronx
Kings
Nassau
New York
Queens
Richmond
Rockland
Suffolk
Westchester Moderate June 2010 Moderate -
Poughkeepsie, NY
Map (PDF) (1 p, 111KB) Dutchess
Putnam
Orange Moderate June 2010 Moderate -
Puerto Rico
entire commonwealth is attainment
Virgin Islands entire territory is attainment
2. The first tool is part of the new "Air Emission Sources" Web site, which is designed to make emissions data for six common pollutants easy to find and understand. Based on the latest National Emissions Inventory, the site uses charts and Google Earth files to answer a user’s questions. Users can look at overall emissions, emissions by type of industry, or emissions by largest polluter.
On the web:
Go to the Air Emissions Sources Web site: http://www.epa.gov/air/emissions
View information in Google Earth format about which facilities emit any of six common pollutants: http://www.epa.gov/air/emissions/where.htm
See AQI forecasts and current conditions: http://www.airnow.gov
View air quality information in Google Earth format: http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=google_earth.main
EPA is also using the Google Earth platform to display Acid Rain Program data: http://epa.gov/airmarkets/progress/interactivemapping.html
3.Under the Clean Air Act, EPA establishes air quality standards to protect public health and the environment. EPA has set national air quality standards for six principal air pollutants. These include:
carbon monoxide,
lead,
nitrogen dioxide,
ozone,
particulate matter (also known as particle pollution), and
sulfur dioxide.
EPA tracks the emissions from the sources of these pollutants, including how much of each pollutant (or the pollutants that form them) is emitted from various pollution sources. EPA posts the results of our analyses to this web site.
OZONE (TOPIC)
Ozone is a gas composed of three atoms of oxygen. Ozone occurs both in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at ground level. Ozone can be good or bad, depending on where it is found:
Good Ozone. Ozone occurs naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere - 6 to 30 miles above the Earth's surface - where it forms a protective layer that shields us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. Manmade chemicals are known to destroy this beneficial ozone. An area where the protective "ozone layer" has been significantly depleted-for example, over the North or South pole-is sometimes called "the ozone hole.
Bad Ozone. In the Earth's lower atmosphere, near ground level, ozone is formed when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight. Ozone at ground level is a harmful air pollutant.
ACID RAIN
"Acid rain" is a broad term referring to a mixture of wet and dry deposition (deposited material) from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. The precursors, or chemical forerunners, of acid rain formation result from both natural sources, such as volcanoes and decaying vegetation, and man-made sources, primarily emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) resulting from fossil fuel combustion. In the United States, roughly 2/3 of all SO2 and 1/4 of all NOx come from electric power generation that relies on burning fossil fuels, like coal. Acid rain occurs when these gases react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form various acidic compounds. The result is a mild solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released from power plants and other sources, prevailing winds blow these compounds across state and national borders, sometimes over hundreds of miles.
Acid rain causes acidification of lakes and streams and contributes to the damage of trees at high elevations (for example, red spruce trees above 2,000 feet) and many sensitive forest soils. In addition, acid rain accelerates the decay of building materials and paints.
Effects of Acid Rain - Surface Waters and Aquatic Animals
The ecological effects of acid rain are most clearly seen in the aquatic, or water, environments, such as streams, lakes, and marshes. Acid rain flows into streams, lakes, and marshes after falling on forests, fields, buildings, and roads. Acid rain also falls directly on aquatic habitats.
Where Does Acid Rain Affect Lakes and Streams?
Many lakes and streams examined in a National Surface Water Survey (NSWS) suffer from chronic acidity, a condition in which water has a constant low pH level. The survey investigated the effects of acidic deposition in over 1,000 lakes larger than 10 acres and in thousands of miles of streams believed to be sensitive to acidification. Of the lakes and streams surveyed, acid rain caused acidity in 75 percent of the acidic lakes and about 50 percent of the acidic streams
Effects of Acid Rain - Forests
Over the years, scientists, foresters, and others have noted a slowed growth of some forests. Leaves and needles turn brown and fall off when they should be green and healthy. In extreme cases, individual trees or entire areas of the forest simply die off without an obvious reason.
Effects of Acid Rain - Human Health
Acid rain looks, feels, and tastes just like clean rain. The harm to people from acid rain is not direct. Walking in acid rain, or even swimming in an acid lake, is no more dangerous than walking or swimming in clean water
Fine particles can also penetrate indoors. Many scientific studies have identified a relationship between elevated levels of fine particles and increased illness and premature death from heart and lung disorders, such as asthma and bronchitis.
In the eastern U.S., sulfate aerosols make up about 25 percent of fine particles. By lowering SO2 and NOx emissions from power generation, the Acid Rain Program will reduce the levels of fine sulfate and nitrate particles and so reduce the incidence and the severity of these health problems. When fully implemented by the year 2010, the public health benefits of the Acid Rain Program are estimated to be valued at $50 billion annually, due to decreased mortality, hospital admissions, and emergency room visits.
