State Recommends EPA Designate North Carolina in Compliance with Tougher Air Quality Standard

The State of North Carolina has made a recommendation to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the organization designate all 100 counties in the state as meeting a stricter federal air pollution standard set last year.

Ambient air quality monitoring data and an analysis of smoke impacts from the 2023 Canadian wildfires supports the state’s recommendation to the EPA that North Carolina be designated fully in attainment with the nation’s revised annual standard for fine particulate matter, also known as PM_2.5.

“Our state continues to take critical steps to ensure North Carolinians have access to clean air,” said Governor Josh Stein. “I am encouraging the EPA to designate the entire state of North Carolina as meeting these standards to affirm the decades of progress the state has made in reducing emissions of air pollution.”

“We’re working to safeguard our air to protect the health and prosperity of all North Carolinians in communities large and small,” said Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson. “North Carolina is already meeting the EPA’s updated fine particulate standard because we’ve steadily reduced emissions from cars, industry and other sources, all while growing our economy.”

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has submitted the state’s designation recommendation to EPA along with the analysis of wildfire smoke, called an Exceptional Events Demonstration. The demonstration clearly shows that high levels of PM_2.5 at two air quality monitors in June and July 2023 were caused by the Canadian wildfires and were outside the control of the state.  PM_2.5 is any extremely small particle that can be emitted by either manmade sources like cars and industry or natural sources like wildfire and dust. Breathing air with high levels of PM_2.5 for extended periods is linked to health effects including shortness of breath and heart conditions. North Carolina has seen a 49% decline in PM_2.5 emissions between 1990 and 2020 and maintained statewide compliance with the previous PM_2.5 standard.

After reviewing the latest scientific evidence, EPA in May 2024 tightened the annual standard for PM_2.5 from 12.0 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 9.0 micrograms per cubic meter. EPA says that the revised standard will save lives, reduce cases of asthma, prevent lost workdays and save billions in public health spending, especially in communities of vulnerable populations.

Based on air quality monitoring data from 2021-2023, 19 out of 21 monitoring sites in North Carolina were meeting the revised standard. However, a monitor in each Mecklenburg and Davidson counties were slightly above the revised standard due to influences of Canadian wildfire smoke in 2023.

DEQ is recommending EPA designate all of North Carolina as in attainment with the revised PM_2.5 standard because the Canadian wildfires were exceptional events outside of the state’s control. Provisions in the Clean Air Act allow EPA to remove air quality data from days influenced by exceptional events when determining compliance with air quality standards. This would allow DEQ to focus on pollution reduction strategies that are within its control to ensure ongoing attainment with the revised standard.

EPA will review the state’s recommendation and Exceptional Events Demonstration, along with certified monitoring data from 2022-2024, and make a final decision as to whether or not North Carolina is meeting the revised PM_2.5 standard in February 2026.

DEQ’s Division of Air Quality and its partners provide daily air quality forecasts for all 100 counties through the Air Quality Portal using EPA’s color-coded Air Quality Index. On the handful of days when PM_2.5 or ground-level ozone reaches short-term levels that can impact public health, the state issues alerts and communicates how residents can keep themselves safe. However, fewer air quality alerts have had to be issued in recent years, and North Carolina continues to be in attainment with every federal health-based air quality standard.

More information about the revised PM_2.5 standard is on DEQ’s website.