MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is set to begin a two-year State Improvement Plan to determine why Marana and its surrounding region haven’t frequently met federal air quality guidelines.
The agency held a town hall on Thursday to discuss its findings and solutions to bring air levels back in line with federal guidelines.
However, some feel the answer to the city's decline in air quality has more to do with Arizona's well-documented drought than it does with industries operating in the region.
"Common sense says that yeah, just through nature alone, dust should of been a little bit more of a problem during a drought period," said Arnoldo Burrel, the owner of Burrel and Burrel farms, over the phone. "Which I think we’re finally breaking now here in Arizona," he said.
The Environmental Protection Agency has in place what’s called the NAAQS, or the National Ambient Air Quality Standard.
The standard limits the number of pollutants allowed in the air, and cities can only exceed that threshold one day during any given year.
"How many days per year do we exceed that standard of 150 micrograms per meter cubed," said Laura Mirtich an environmental scientist during the town hall.
The answer is a lot.
According to ADEQ during the presentation, Marana and the surrounding region have exceeded that one-day threshold in all but three years from 2012 to 2022.
"2021 was our highest violating year where we had twelve days where we exceeded the NAAQS set federal standard," she said.
Over the next two years, the agency will create a state implementation plan to determine the biggest cause and how to address the issue.
Others, however, have their doubts, believing they could specifically be targeted.
"Is it just me? It seems like you’re targeting us because of one specific little area," said a farmer who was attending the town hall.
However, state officials said during the town hall any implemented changes will be based on the data collected over time.
