http://www.boston.com/dailynews/244/nation/Denver_close_to_becoming_first:.shtml

Denver close to becoming first major U.S. city to achieve clean-air status

By Associated Press, 9/1/2001 05:41

DENVER (AP) An intense battle against air pollution is finally paying dividends for officials in Denver, which will likely soon have the distinction of being the first major city to achieve compliance with the Clean Air Act.

Denver was once among the worst-polluted cities in the country, with a brown cloud a constant reminder of its pollution woes. In 1977, only Los Angeles had worse air quality.

But Denver has been turning its pollution woes around in recent years, and the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the state's request to redesignate Denver a clean-air city for ozone. Last week, federal air-quality officials also proposed designating Denver a clean-air city for carbon monoxide.

If the EPA accepts a plan submitted this summer to limit particulate levels, Denver will be the first city in the country to come all the way back to clean-air status. Officials say approval is likely.

''We're finally eliminating the stigma of Denver being a dirty-air city,'' said Doug Benevento, manager of the state's environmental programs. ''Nobody can say that about us anymore.''

Tim Russ with the EPA's air and radiation division said the designations are significant and set Denver apart from other major metro areas.

''Denver had extreme difficulty with all three pollutants back in the 1970s and 1980s,'' Russ said. ''Cities like Atlanta and Houston are still violating the ozone standard, so they're not even in the ballgame yet.''

Gov. Bill Owens has made the clean-air designations a priority, but Benevento said the success took widespread cooperation.

Reduced driving, oxygenated fuels, public awareness campaigns and enforcement of smokestack emission limits are all considered important factors in the pollution progress.

''All this took real effort,'' Benevento said. ''People did real things to get us here.''

-- Anonymous, September 02, 2001