User:Milton Beychok/Sandbox: Difference between revisions

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In the past, the Owens Lake dry bed area was characterized as being the largest single source of  PM<sub>10</sub> (particulate matter less than 10 microns in size) in the [[United States]] by the [[Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District]] (GBUAPCD)<ref name=PM-HealthEffects>[http://www.gbuapcd.org/Information/OwensLakeParticulateMatterHealthEffects.htm Survey of Reported Health Effects of Owens Lake Particulate Matter] January, 2000. Retrieved from the website of the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD) on 2011-01-31.</ref><ref>'''Note:''' The primary air pollution regulatory agency in the state of California is the [[California Air Resources Board]] (CARB). The GBUAPCD is one of the 35 air pollution control districts, which report to CARB and which address air pollution problems at the local level.</ref>. That characterization was based on an approximate, unscientific estimate made in about 1986 that the annual PM<sub>10</sub> emissions were 300,000 tons.<ref>Personal correspondence in an email from Mr. Ted Schade of the GBUAPCD on February 3, 2011.</ref> Subsequently, the GBUAPCD monitored and scientifically tested the PM<sub>10</sub> emissions over a long period, including daily measurements from the period of July 2000 to 2001, and determined the annual PM<sub>10</sub> emissions were only 79,000 tons for that year-long test period.<ref name=EPA-Conference>[http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/conference/ei12/fugdust/present/ono.pdf Quantifying Particulate Matter Emissions from Wind Blown Dust Using Real-time Sand Flux Measurements] Duane Ono and Scott Weaver of the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District, and Ken Richmond of MFG, Inc., U.S. EPA Emission Inventory Conference, San Diego, California, April 2003. From website of the U.S. EPA. Retrieved on 2011-01-31.</ref> That is equivalent to an average of  217 tons per day. During that test period, a single  peak daily value of 7,200 tons  was encountered.  
=== Editors ===
When a contributor is confirmed as an Editor, an Editorial Personnel Administrator appointed by the Editorial Council will add a section to the new Editor's userpage explaining the qualifications upon which Editorship has been granted. This section may be revised at the User's discretion, but [http://ec.citizendium.org/wiki/EC:R-2011-002 Editorial Council rules] state that qualifications and credentials must always remain visible to the casual reader.


During the 1980s and the early 1990s, the [[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]] (U.S. EPA) had designated the Owens Lake area as having not attained the [[National Ambient Air Quality Standards]] (NAAQS) for PM<sub>10</sub>. The wind-blown sand and  PM<sub>10</sub> air pollution affected approximately 40,000 residents living near Owens Lake. Regionally the blowing sand and dust also affected [[U.S. Forest Service]] employees and the [[U.S. Navy]]'s air weapons station located at nearby [[ China Lake]].<ref name=EPA-Region9>[http://epa.gov/region9/air/owens/history.html Owens Valley, CA Particulate Matter Plan: History] From website of the U.S. EPA. Retrieved on 2011-01-31.</ref> During those same years, nearby residents in [[Keeler, California]] reportedly were exposed to 25 unhealthful days a year while residents in the town of [[Ridgecrest, California]] experienced 10 unhealthful days per year due to the PM<sub>10</sub> air pollution.  An emergency physician at the Ridgecrest Community Hospital was reported as saying "When we see the white cloud headed down through the pass, the ER and doctors' offices fill up with people who suddenly got worse. It's a pretty straightforward cause and effect.”&thinsp;<ref name=USGS>[http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/geology/owens/ Owens (Dry) Lake, California: A Human-Induced Dust Problem] Abstracted from: Reheis, M.C., in press, ''Dust deposition downwind of Owens (Dry) Lake, 1991-1994: Preliminary findings''. Retrieved from website of the [[U.S. Geological Survey]] on 2011-01-31.</ref>
Editors are encouraged to expand on these basic qualifications for the benefit of other Users who may be seeking guidance. For instance, it is preferable when describing professional experience to include at least one relevant link. This link could point to a formal scholarly publication or the abstract thereof, or to an informal contribution in a professional environment, such as a mailing list, a forum or an open source code repository. [[User:Alexander Wiebel|Example]].
In the late 1990s, after many years of litigation and negotiations that included the city of Los Angeles through its Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD), the U.S. EPA and other interested parties, the [[California Air Resources Board]] (CARB) submitted a [[State Implementation Plan]] (SIP)<ref>'''Note: '''An SIP is a detailed plan of how to achieve a healthy ambient air quality as required  by the United States'  Clean Air Act.</ref> to the U.S. EPA as required by the United States'  [[Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990|Clean Air Act]] (CAAA).<ref name=EPA-Region9/> In accordance with that SIP, the LADWP was made responsible for installing and operating  dust control measures on Owens Lake so as to attain the ambient air quality standards of the NAAQS. As of December 17, 2010, the air quality of the Owens Valley had not yet attained the NAAQS standards for (PM<sub>10</sub>)<ref>'''Note:''' The current NAAQS for PM<sub>10</sub> is a concentration in the ambient air of no more than 150 μg/m<sup>3</sup></ref> and its non-attainment status is still designated by the EPA as being "Serious".<ref>[http://www.epa.gov/airquality/greenbk/ancl2.html Criteria Pollutant Area Summary Report] From website of the U.S. EPA Green Book. Retrieved on 2011-02-02</ref>
 
{{Image|Owens Valley Mitigation Veg.jpg|right|250px|Re-vegetated section of the Owens Lake area as of early 2009.}}
{{Image|Owens Valley IBA 2010.jpg|right|250px|Owens Lake, 2010, designated as an "Important Bird Area" by the National Audubon Society}}
 
However, the LADWP had made much progress:<ref>[http://www.ovcweb.org/docs/Rainshadow1208.pdf  President's Message] Scroll down to the section entitled "Recent News From Owens Lake" on page 5. Retrieved from the website of the Owens Valley Committee on 2011-02-02.</ref><ref>[http://iba.audubon.org/iba/viewSiteProfile.do?siteId=213&navSite=state Owens Lake] Retrieved from an Audubon Society website on 2011-02-02.</ref><ref name=OVC-OwensLake>[http://www.ovcweb.org/OwensValley/OwensLake.html Owens Lake] Retrieved from the  website of the Owens Valley Committee on 2011-02-02.</ref><ref>[http://www.waterplan.water.ca.gov/docs/cwpu2009/0310final/v3_southlahontan_cwp2009.pdf California Water Plan: Update 2009] Bulletin 160-09, Volume 3, Regional Reports, pdf page 32.</ref>
 
*The Owens Lake dust control project currently stretches across approximately 30 of the lake’s 100 square miles. About 27 square miles are covered with ponded water or are shallow-flooded and about  3.5 square miles have been re-vegetated and covered with native [[Saltgrass|saltgrass]] (see the adjacent photo). The saltgrass is irrigated by a water drip system.
*About 64 acres (0.1 square miles) has been covered with gravel as a dust control measure.
*An additional 9 square miles of ponding and shallow-flooding were planned to be added by the LADWP some time in 2010.
*The ponding and shallow-flooding have resulted in a substantial increase in wetlands habitat.
*Owens Lake has once again become a bird sanctuary and a major migratory stop-over site for shorebirds and waterfowl. Each spring and fall, brine flies on the lake support thousands of shorebirds, mainly sandpipers, and thousands of ducks utilize the wetlands habitat. An estimated 63,000 American Avocets stop at the lake during fall and a group of 300 to 400 Snow Geese now winters at Owens Lake.
* The [[National Audubon Society]] has now designated the Owens Lake bird sanctuary (see the adjacent photo) as a "Important Bird Area" (IBA).
 
The LADWP is also scheduled to complete a plan for the long-term habitat management in the entire dust control project area. To that end, the LADWP is cooperating with the GBUAPCD, the [[California Department of Fish and  Game]], the Audubon Society and the[[ Nature Conservancy]] in the development of a long-term habitat management plan for the entire Lake Owens project. The plan will examine and consider the dust control project as well as the springs and wetlands around the shoreline of the lake and is intended to help managers and conservation groups preserve the lake's rich wildlife resources.<ref name=OVC-OwensLake/>
 
 
{{reflist}}

Revision as of 21:25, 9 February 2011

Editors

When a contributor is confirmed as an Editor, an Editorial Personnel Administrator appointed by the Editorial Council will add a section to the new Editor's userpage explaining the qualifications upon which Editorship has been granted. This section may be revised at the User's discretion, but Editorial Council rules state that qualifications and credentials must always remain visible to the casual reader.

Editors are encouraged to expand on these basic qualifications for the benefit of other Users who may be seeking guidance. For instance, it is preferable when describing professional experience to include at least one relevant link. This link could point to a formal scholarly publication or the abstract thereof, or to an informal contribution in a professional environment, such as a mailing list, a forum or an open source code repository. Example.

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