Air Quality Has Worsened in Milwaukee In Recent Years
Canadian wildfires and heat worsened contributed to more days with unhealthy air
Haze from Canadian wildfires is seen over Lake Monona in Madison, Wis. on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is recommending the public stay indoors as the state experiences the worst air quality in more than a decade. Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
A new report from the American Lung Association finds Sheboygan ranked among the top 25 worst cities in the nation for ozone pollution in recent years, and air quality worsened in the Milwaukee metropolitan area.
The annual “State of the Air” report examined ozone and fine particle or soot pollution from 2021 to 2023, ranking air quality from best to worst for cities and counties.
Katherine Pruitt, senior director for nationwide clean air policy with the American Lung Association, said wildfires in 2021 and 2023 combined with warmer temperatures in the summer increased ozone and fine particle pollution. Poor air quality in the region is often tied to pollution from vehicles, power plants and industry.
“They’re cleaner than they were in the past, but when you layer the wildfire smoke and the ozone that is more likely to form in hot weather on top of that, you really see some significant deterioration,” Pruitt said.
Air quality has been largely improving since the Clean Air Act. Emissions had been trending downward due to cleaner cars and plants, but Pruitt said pollution began to tick up slightly in recent years amid record-hot years and drought.
The report called on people to support and defend the Environmental Protection Agency as it has faced cuts to federal funding and staff along with proposals to roll back environmental regulations.
“Rolling back regulations is a ludicrous approach to upholding the mission of the EPA, which is to protect public health and the environment,” Pruitt said.
In a statement, an EPA spokesperson said the U.S. can protect the environment and grow the economy at the same time.
“In fact, the Trump Administration is taking steps in the right direction to ensure EPA adheres to the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment and Powering the Great American Comeback,” the spokesperson wrote.
Smoke blocks long distance views as cars drive on a highway Wednesday, June 28, 2023, in Rock County, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
More counties receive failing grade for ozone, particle pollution
In Wisconsin, the report found 16 of 26 counties with air quality data received a failing grade compared to seven counties in last year’s report. The state also saw 11 of 18 counties with monitors receive a failing grade for daily soot pollution. Milwaukee and Waukesha counties were also among 27 counties nationwide that received failing grades for ozone pollution, as well as daily and annual fine particle pollution.
“When I worked in Sheboygan, my staff had to carry around a backpack full of inhalers, nebulizers, all this stuff,” Clarke said. “Watching its impact on kids was really what got me going.”
Clarke, who co-founded the Sheboygan Ozone Reduction Alliance, wants to see more protective federal standards.
Parts of Sheboygan, Washington, Waukesha, Racine and Kenosha counties and all of Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties are not meeting the 2015 federal air quality standards for ozone pollution of 70 parts per billion. That means there’s more restrictive permitting requirements for new development.
In its 2024 report on air quality trends, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said ozone pollution along the Lake Michigan shoreline has dropped 22 percent since the early 2000s. The agency said the region has failed to meet federal standards due to ozone pollution “outside of the state’s control,” saying most pollution originates from other states.
Scott Manley with Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce called the American Lung Association’s report an “annual scare tactic” that’s misleading. Manley, the group’s executive vice president of government relations, said the DNR has confirmed that higher ozone levels along the lakeshore are from states like Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
The EPA has vowed to end the “good neighbor” rule developed by the Biden administration that sought to reduce ozone pollution from other states. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year prevented the rule from being enforced in roughly a dozen states, including Wisconsin.
Brittany Keyes, clean air policy manager for Healthy Climate Wisconsin, noted air pollution can worsen asthma or other respiratory illnesses. While pollution is transported from outside the state, she said Wisconsin sources also contribute to air quality.
“My hope is that we can look at this report and come together and respond in a way that moves us all forward to a healthier future and in a way that benefits the state, economically and environmentally,” Keyes said.
Report finds wildfires, heat have worsened Wisconsin air quality in recent years was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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