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Environmental Assessment <br />August 2005 <br />■ • Floodplains <br />• Native American Religious Concerns <br />• Wastes, Hazardous or Solid <br />• Wedands/Riparian Zones <br />• Wild and Scenic Rivers <br />• Wilderness <br />Howie Resources, L.L.C. <br />Spruce Stomp Federal Coal Exploration License (150- 2005 -43) <br />' • Noise <br />3.2 BLM Critical Elements of the Human Environment <br />3.2.1 Air Quality <br />Due to the nature of air pollution and the propensity for these pollutants to travel great distances <br />' in the air stream, the area of potential affect for air quality is comprised of North Fork Valley <br />from Crawford to the reservoir north of the West Elk Mine. <br />3.2.1.1 Affected Environment <br />An air pollutant is any contaminant present in the atmosphere in sufficient quantities to be <br />detrimental to the public's well- being, human health, plant or animal life, or property. Criteria <br />air pollutants are defined as those pollutants for which the federal government has established air <br />quality standards or criteria for outdoor concentrations to protect public health. The air quality <br />of a region is evaluated on the basis of Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS) for five criteria <br />air pollutants: particulate matter (PM) smaller than 10 microns (µm) in diameter (PMIO), sulfur <br />dioxide (SOA ozone (03), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide (NOD. The directly <br />emitted criteria air pollutants are CO, NO2, SO2 and PM10. 03 is a secondary air pollutant <br />resulting from photochemical reactions involving nitrogen oxides (NO.) and reactive organic <br />gases. In some cases where the primary AAQS were found to be insufficient to protect public <br />property or resources, more stringent secondary standards were established. The State has <br />adopted ambient air standards that, in many cases, are more stringent than the AAQS. <br />Air quality standards and regulations are expressed either as pollutant concentration or as the <br />annual emission rate. Concentrations are expressed either in micrograms per cubic meter <br />(gg/m or parts per million (ppm) by volume. National Primary Standards define the levels of <br />air quality necessary to protect the public health and welfare from known or anticipated adverse <br />effects of a pollutant with an adequate margin of safety. The primary and secondary National <br />AAQS and the Colorado air quality standards are presented in Table 3 -1. <br />3 -3 <br />