Rule changes may clear air for Oklahoma residents hurt by soot

By John David Sutter

Published: August 20, 2008

DUNCAN — The state Environmental Quality Board on Tuesday unanimously approved an air quality regulation change that's intended to protect people from health effects associated with soot.

Public Service Company of Oklahoma — a power company that operates mostly in eastern Oklahoma — opposed the changed rule. An attorney for the company said the change will make this regulation two to three times more strict than a similar federal standard.

The rule deals with fine particles emitted by power plants and other industries. The state Department of Environmental Quality says it has always required companies to test for those particles in two ways: measuring particles from smokestacks and testing for gases that will become soot.

The board voted to clarify in state rules that both tests — not just the first — are required.

State officials say that point hasn't been clear in their regulations, which called for general monitoring but didn't specify what tests were needed.

That posed a problem in at least one instance, in which Continental Carbon Co., a tire manufacturer in Ponca City, claimed it wasn't responsible for the gaseous soot it emitted, said Eddie Terrill, DEQ director of air quality. Sticky black particles from the plant raised worries about cancer and other health problems.

Russell Kroll, an attorney for PSO, said the company likely would have trouble complying with the new rule.

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