Urban Fugitive Dust Policy
BCAA adopted this policy in -1996 as a result of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) among EPA, Washington State Department of Ecology and BCAA. This policy was developed after 18 months of stakeholder meetings, drafts and revisions.
The main requirement of the MOA was accounting for PM10 NAAQS exceedances as windblown dust events, not man-made. The Tri Cities urban MOA was parallel to Columbia Plateau PM10 Project which explained the regional nature of windblown PM10.
The policy describes how BCAA interprets and enforces 173-400-010(9)(a) in urban areas of Benton County.
Fugitive Dust
(9) Fugitive dust.
(a) The owner or operator of a source of fugitive dust shall take reasonable precautions to prevent fugitive dust from becoming airborne and shall maintain and operate the source to minimize emissions.
(3) Fallout. No person shall cause or allow the emission of particulate matter from any source to be deposited beyond the property under direct control of the owner or operator of the source in sufficient quantity to interfere unreasonably with the use and enjoyment of the property upon which the material is deposited.
This policy defines “reasonably available control methods” for fugitive dust control, and describes BCAA’s enforcement program.
This policy also provides relief to citizens and contractors if the wind speed exceeds a threshold – but only if all reasonably available means of dust control are already in place.
More information on preventing windblown dust is here.
