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For nearly twenty years the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has allowed a poorly placed compliance monitor to hold Sheboygan County accountable for pollution that is almost entirely generated elsewhere.

Federal law fails to adequately account for the impact of pollutants generated from outside the County, including from outside the state of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) observed “Wisconsin’s lakeshore air quality is heavily impacted by ozone precursors originating from out of state. Sheboygan County, in particular, has long suffered the consequences of diminished air quality and resulting nonattainment due to emissions originating beyond Wisconsin’s borders.” This is supported by air flow modeling showing pollutants are blown up from Illinois and Indiana, “cooked” over Lake Michigan, and then blown along the shoreline of Wisconsin.

There are two air quality monitors in Sheboygan County. The Kohler-Andrae monitor is upwind from the key sources of ozone in the County and therefore detects ozone from major sources to the south, such as Chicago, Indiana, Michigan and other counties. The Haven monitor is downwind from the key ozone sources and therefore detects the actual ozone levels in Sheboygan County.

A closer look at the data collected from both of the air monitors located within Sheboygan County supports the argument that reliance on the Haven monitor – the monitor downwind from Sheboygan actually collecting emissions data from Sheboygan businesses – would place the County within attainment. The decision by the EPA to rely on the Kohler-Andrae monitor results in the County failing to maintain acceptable attainment standards, in the process triggering devastating regulations.


Do You Think Sheboygan County Should Let Congress Know About This Issue?

Click here for information from the House Oversight and Gov. Reform Committee