MONITORING AND MANAGING TETON COUNTY AIR QUALITY

Chase Krumholz

ROBB SGROI

Air quality and visibility are invaluable natural resources. Both local and distant air pollutant sources affect air quality in Teton County. Protecting the quality of the air resource is a multi-faceted job that includes active research and monitoring; coordination with other organizations on pollution controls when pollution is likely to affect our community; and education to visitors about the importance of clean, healthy air.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Air Quality Division (DEQ) share responsibilities in regulating air quality, including permitting and monitoring air quality and emissions. Teton Conservation District partners with these regulatory agencies by providing funding and supporting the operation of monitoring instruments, as well as communicating outcomes from what we are learning.

How Is Air Quality Measured?

Air quality monitors are often characterized as low-cost air sensors, temporary or permanent monitors. Each of these has been deployed locally over time for various purposes. These sensors include the PurpleAir brand sensor that measures particulate matter (PM) levels. PM is the main health hazard attributed to wildfire smoke. These microscopic particles can irritate eyes and respiratory systems and can aggravate asthma and chronic heart and lung diseases.

Approximately 20 of these PurpleAir sensors are sited across Teton County. Their monitoring results are publicly accessible and feed into some of the real-time, publicly available air quality indexes reported for our county. An example application of these sensors is the device located at the Jackson Hole High School, which provides information allowing School District staff to quantify air quality conditions and determine if outdoor activities, such as sports events, will be held.

Temporary monitors have been used to answer specific human and environmental health questions. The most recent and relevant temporary monitoring occurred from 20182019 on the National Elk Refuge. The DEQ is completing a statewide characterization of air quality in all micropolitan areas, and the Town of Jackson fits the criteria as a study candidate. A DEQ mobile air quality station (a mobile trailer full of instruments!) was sited downwind of Jackson for one year to assess the Town’s air quality. The station came with meteorological equipment, a camera for depicting visibility, and instruments to measure pollutants, including ozone, oxides of nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter (PM).

In addition, Teton Conservation District and several stakeholders funded a study by Inversion Labs to deploy temporary monitors to assess air quality impacts from vehicle emissions. This 2018 project used handheld instruments to measure particulate matter and ozone in areas with high traffic in both winter and summer.

Long-term instruments are also in place in several locations, documenting current conditions and trends. Two instruments worth noting are the station along High School Road and another near the Kelly Campus of the Teton Science Schools.

The first instrument, the Jackson State or Local Air Monitoring Stations (SLAMS), is the current iteration of a decades-long monitoring effort, which received updated instrumentation in 2021. As a result, the public can now access real-time information collected hourly. The data collected includes a particulate matter of 2.5 microns and smaller (PM2.5), as well as PM10, which measures particulate matter between 2.5 and 10 microns. The second permanent instrument has been stationed on Grand Teton National Park lands since 2011 and primarily measures ozone but also captures visibility readings with a camera. Visibility is measured because it is within a Class 1 Airshed designated to protect air quality for visibility.

What Have We Learned From Our Air Quality Monitors?

First, air quality and visibility are invaluable natural resources. Six air pollutants are regulated and monitored to assess compliance to protect public health and welfare. Teton County’s air quality is generally good based on measurements of these pollutants. Monitoring shows that our county’s most acute air quality pollutant is regional wildfire smoke, which can cause adverse health effects. Fine particles (PM2.5), which include wildfire smoke, are measured continuously using lowcost and permanent air sensors. This monitoring supports short-term decision-making, such as whether to conduct prolonged outdoor recreation. This data also helps atrisk populations manage their risk.

The Teton Conservation District commissioned the vehicle emissions study because ground transportation has been identified as the county’s

largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. The study targeted times and locations of the highest pollution, such as during wintertime inversions in areas with numerous school buses.

Findings were that background levels of particulate matter were very low, and ozone concentrations were normal. However, brief and localized spikes in contaminant concentrations could be found adjacent to point sources, including accelerating vehicles and exhaust vents from cooking facilities.

Data from the permanent Jackson SLAMS site and the temporary Jackson air characterization site have shown few exceedances in ambient air quality beyond the healthiest level of air quality. Air quality degradation from the highest (“Good”) level down to the second best (“Moderate”) level is primarily due to regional wildfire smoke, as well as what is speculated to be brief periods of localized street sweeping near the instruments.

Across our monitoring efforts, ‘clean’ air has been observed and measured in Teton County. In addition, certain areas of interest that have been studied, such as brake emissions at the base of Teton Pass, vehicle exhaust in high-traffic areas, and short-term increases in pollutants that dissipate rapidly, have been recorded.

Data shows that regional wildfire smoke has been the source of the most significant impact on local air quality in the past decade. Fortunately, regulatory agencies have installed local instrumentation that collects and shares real-time data that measures air quality parameters from our known contaminant sources.

How Can I Stay Informed On Air Quality Conditions?

The EPA’s Air Now website offers a Fire and Smoke Map. Zoom into the Jackson area and click on the square to see the current estimated Air Quality Index (AQI) value.

Also through the EPA, you can find the Interactive Map of Air Quality (AQI) to see information from nearby areas to estimate local air quality.

See the EPA’s Activity Guides to learn ways to protect your health when the AQI reaches unhealthy levels. Real-time local PM2.5 information is available through https:// www.wyvisnet.com/ and Teton Conservation District’s website.

Teton Conservation District is a local government entity whose mission is to work with the community in conserving natural resources for the health and benefit of people and the environment. We are a partnering agency that depends on relationships with stakeholders to support the community’s goals. TCD recently published the Mountain Neighbor Handbook as a resource for the Teton County resident that has lived here for a lifetime or moved here yesterday. Robb Sgroi serves as the Land Resource Specialist. Robb’s interests span air and soil resources, wildfire risk reduction, and advancing the community food system. This includes program development and administration. Robb appreciates the opportunities provided to TCD to work with the public, agencies, and stakeholders to advance the community’s interests in natural resource conservation.