Vehicles Not Only Link to Bad Air

    Tis the season that Cache Valley residents will start to see more red air days than not. Although air quality can be bad in other seasons besides winter, the valley is affected more when it is cold due to the intensity of inversions.

                “I hate when I leave the house and see this layer of smog over the valley, and then drive down into it,” said Laura Griffin, whose home is above Birch Creek Golf Course.

                Many different things can affect the air quality other than just cars, said Grant Koford, Environmental Health Director at Bear River Health Department.

                 Although Cache County does not require emissions testing on vehicles yet, state inspections are rigorous in testing exhaust systems for any leaks or malfunctions, Midas General Manager Ray Balentine said.

                 Public transportations in the valley are also joining the more environmental friendly vehicles. Cache Valley Transit District is replacing old busses with new hybrid busses. Cache and Logan School Districts received a federal grant last year to install particulate filters in school bus exhaust systems.

                 “Local restaurants and manufacturing plants exhaust systems contribute most of the hazardous pollutants along with wood burning stoves and fireplaces,” Koford said. With more efficient cars being built, these are the big focus areas for the health department right now, he said.

                 When it is a red air day, residents are restricted from using their wood burning stoves and fireplaces, Koford said. The exceptions are if the stoves are Environmental Protection Agency certified or have a pollution control unit. “You can tell if their fireplaces have them or not by how much smoke comes out of the chimney,” he said. 

                 The Health Department aims to educate the residents in violation of the order before taking any further actions.

                “That’s just a hard situation. Some people have to heat their homes this way because they can’t afford to pay for heat,” Smithfield resident Devri Lott said.

                The Division of Air Quality and local stakeholders are writing an implementation plan for Cache Valley which could enforce fines to residents not abiding by the burn restriction, Koford said.

                     The implementation plan is also aimed to take more strict measures with businesses such as restaurants and manufacturing plants. The businesses will have to follow guidelines on exhaust systems to help prevent excess pollution, Koford said.