Region 7: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska
These Central Midwestern states all share generally good air quality, with the exception of the St. Louis metropolitan area. And that’s a big exception, because the St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL area moved onto the list of most ozone-polluted cities in the United States in this year’s report, ranked 24th. Several cities and counties earned spots on the lists of cleanest communities.
Iowa
In 2002–2004, Iowa maintained its tradition of clean air quality throughout the state. Four Iowa cities appeared on the list of cleanest for ozone—Ames-Boone, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines-Newton-Pella, and Waterloo-Cedar Falls—and three appeared on the list of cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution—Iowa City, Sioux City-Vermillion, IA-NE-SD and Waterloo-Cedar Falls. Seven counties showed up on the list of cleanest for short-term particle exposure and seven on the list for cleanest for ozone, but only Montgomery County made both lists.
Kansas
Air quality in Kansas remained relatively good, with two counties—Lynn and Sumner—appearing on the list of cleanest for short-term particle pollution. Lynn and Trego counties made the list of cleanest counties for ozone pollution.
Missouri
Despite having cleaner air in the metro area since the previous report, St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL, emerged on the list of the 25 most ozone-polluted cities this year as others improved more and dropped off the list. Last year, the city tied for 28th most polluted. Columbia and Springfield both made the list of cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution. Six counties—Boone, Cedar, Greene, Maries, Mercer and Monroe—earned places on the list of cleanest counties for short-term particle pollution. Maries County earned special note as it cleaned up enough to earn a grade of A, up from an F, for short-term particle levels. St. Louis City also saw significant improvement in its year-round particle pollution, moving to a passing from a failing grade.
Nebraska
Air quality in Nebraska remained good statewide during 2002-2004. Lincoln remained listed among the cleanest cities in the nation for ozone pollution. Five counties ranked on the list of cleanest for short-term particle pollution—Hall, Lincoln, Sarpy, Scotts Bluff and Washington. Two counties—Douglas and Lancaster—also landed on the list of cleanest for ozone air pollution.
Region 8: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Particle pollution remained the worst air quality problem in these Western states. Three cities ranked among the most polluted cities exposed to short-term particle pollution: Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield, UT ranked 5th; Logan, UT-ID, ranked 6th; and Provo-Orem, UT, ranked 9th. Despite those problems, many cities and counties in the region remained ranked among the nation’s cleanest.
Colorado
Ozone remained the worst air pollution problem in Colorado, as reported in counties near the cities of Denver and Ft. Collins. Despite that, Colorado Springs remained on the list of cleanest cities for all three major pollutant exposures. Fort Collins-Loveland and Pueblo ranked on the list of cleanest cities for short-term and year-round particle levels. The city of Greeley joined them on the list of cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution. Eleven counties earned places on the list of cleanest counties for short-term particles, while three—Archuleta, Elbert and San Miguel—also landed on the list of cleanest for year-round particle levels. Elbert ranked 2nd cleanest, San Miguel ranked 9th and Archuleta ranked 16th. Four other counties ranked on the list of cleanest counties for ozone pollution.
Montana
Great Falls ranked 4th cleanest city for year-round particle pollution levels during 2002-2004. Rosebud County and Sanders County ranked among the cleanest for short-term particle pollution, while Cascade County ranked 14th cleanest for yearround particle pollution levels. Flathead County earned a spot on the list of the counties least polluted by ozone. Montana retained a very unhealthy level of particle pollution in Lincoln County, where wood smoke in Libby is the source of much of the particle problem.7
North Dakota
Air quality in North Dakota remained good in 2002-2004. Bismarck and Fargo-Wahpeton, ND-MN earned spots on the list of cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution. Bismarck also made the list for cleanest cities for year-round levels. McKenzie County ranked as one of America’s cleanest counties, ranking on all three lists, including 12th cleanest for year-round particle levels. Billings County ranked 3rd cleanest for year-round particle levels, while Burke County also ranked 15th cleanest and Mercer County tied for 22nd on that same list. Billings also ranked on the list of the cleanest counties for ozone pollution. Cass County also showed up on the cleanest for ozone and short-term particles list. Several other counties made the cleanest lists as well.
South Dakota
Another state with generally low levels of air pollution, South Dakota saw Rapid City again rank as one of the cleanest cities in the nation, landing on all three lists of cleanest cities. Sioux Falls was on both the lists for the cleanest cities for ozone and short-term particle pollution levels. Six counties earned a place on the list of cleanest counties for short-term particle pollution levels, while Minnehanna County also made the list of cleanest counties for ozone along with Pennington County. Jackson County ranked 13th and Meade County ranked 22nd on the list of the cleanest for year-round particle levels.
Utah
Short-term particle pollution remains a huge air pollution threat in Utah’s largest cities. Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield moved up to 5th most polluted by short-term particle exposure, with Logan, UT-ID moving onto this list for the first time, ranking 6th. Provo-Orem remained on the list, moving up to 9th most polluted from 15th place last time. Two Utah counties—Cache and San Juan—earned places on the list of the cleanest counties for ozone pollution.
Wyoming
Wyoming’s capitol, Cheyenne, ranked among the cleanest cities in the nation for short-term and year-round levels of particle pollution. In fact, it was the cleanest U.S. city for annual particle pollution levels in 2002-2004. Converse County is the cleanest county in the United States for year-round levels of particle pollution. Laramie County ranked 4th on that list, while Campbell County tied as 18th cleanest county in the nation. These three counties and Teton County ranked among the cleanest for short-term particle levels as well, while Teton County was one of the cleanest counties for ozone exposure as well.
