Bell
County,
Kentucky
Area
The
Bell
County
area
is
located
in
rural
southeastern
Kentucky.
Since
this
rural
county
is
not
defined
by
metropolitan
statistical
area
(
MSA)
boundaries,
a
comparison
with
adjacent
or
regional
counties
has
been
included.
Bell
2
BELL
COUNTY
AREA,
KENTUCKY
Bell
County
is
part
of
the
Kentucky
River
Area
Development
District.
It
is
located
to
the
west
of
Harlan
County,
Kentucky,
to
the
southeast
of
Knox
County,
to
the
east
of
Whitley
County,
and
to
the
north
of
both
Claiborne
County,
Tennessee
and
Lee
County,
Virginia.

Geography/
Topography
Bell
County
has
a
land
area
of
360
square
miles.
It
is
situated
in
the
Eastern
CoalField
Region
of
Kentucky
and
contains
some
of
its
most
rugged
topography.
Both
the
Cumberland
Gap
National
Historic
Park
and
the
Pine
Mountain
State
Resort
Park
are
located
within
Bell
County's
boundaries
making
it
the
only
county
in
Kentucky
to
contain
both
a
national
park
and
a
state
park.
In
1996,
the
Cumberland
Gap
Tunnel
was
opened
to
traffic
traveling
between
Kentucky
and
Tennessee.

Meteorological
Information
Due
to
the
close
proximity
of
Knoxville,
Tennessee,
meteorological
data
from
Knoxville
was
used
for
this
Kentucky
area.
Wind
speed/
wind
direction
information
shows
that
the
majority
of
the
time
for
the
period
1988
 
1992,
the
wind
in
the
Bell
County
area
came
from
the
southwest,
typically
from
4­
6
knots.
(
See
figure
1­
A)
The
mean
high
temperature
for
July
for
the
area
from
1961
through
1990
was
85
°
F,
the
mean
low
was
64
°
F.
The
mean
precipitation
for
the
same
period
was
4.3
inches.

Planning
The
authority
for
air
quality
planning
in
the
Bell
County
area
resides
with
the
Kentucky
Natural
Resources
and
Environmental
Protection
Cabinet.
Transportation
planning
for
Bell
County
is
performed
by
the
Kentucky
Transportation
Cabinet.

Air
Monitoring
This
monitor
site
was
established
in
1992
as
a
special
purpose
monitor
to
collect
ozone
data
for
transport
purposes.
For
the
2000
 
2002
monitoring
period,
the
ozone
monitor
(
21­
013­
0002)
in
Middlesboro,
Bell
County,
shows
an
8­
hour
design
value
of
.086
parts
per
million
(
ppm)
which
would
be
classified
as
a
county
in
violation
of
the
standard.
(
See
table
1­
A)
3
Population
Based
on
projections
to
2001
from
the
2000
census
data,
there
are
29,873
persons
living
in
Bell
County.
(
See
table
1­
C)
That
represents
approximately
83
persons
per
square
mile.
The
population
of
Bell
County
is
approximately
63%
rural
with
the
remaining
37%
living
in
incorporated
areas.
The
largest
cities
in
Bell
County
are
Middlesboro
and
Pineville.

Bell
County's
population
from
1990
through
2000
decreased
by
approximately
4.6%
(
31,506
to
30,060).
The
population
is
further
expected
to
decrease
by
an
additional
4.9%
between
2000
and
2010.
A
review
of
surrounding
counties
indicates
overall
positive
growth
for
1990
through
2000
and
for
2000
through
2010.
(
See
table
1­
B)

Air
Emissions
Point
source
VOC
emissions
from
Bell
County
were
estimated
at
0.16
tons
per
summer
day
(
tpsd)
in
2001
which
represents
approximately
8%
of
the
total
2.02
tpsd
of
overall
VOC
point
source
emissions
from
the
Bell
County
Regional
Area
(
See
map
of
area
on
page
1).
Point
source
NOx
emissions
from
Bell
County
were
estimated
at
6.84
tpsd
in
2001
which
represents
approximately
28%
of
the
total
24.44
tpsd
of
overall
NOx
point
source
emissions
from
the
Bell
County
area
(
See
table
1­
D)

Regional
2001
Point
Source
Emissions
Point
sources
located
within
Bell
County
are
subject
to
PSD
requirements,
CTG
RACT
requirements,
Maximum
Achievable
Control
Technology
(
MACT)
requirements
for
sources
of
Hazardous
Air
Pollutants
and
New
Source
Performance
Standards
(
NSPS).
VOC
Emissions
tons
per
summer
day
Harlan
0%
Knox
0%
Whitley
0%
Pulaski
38%
Leslie
2%

Laurel
52%
Bell
8%

Clay
0%
NOx
Emissions
tons
per
summer
day
Harlan
0%
Knox
0%
Whitley
0%
Pulaski
71%

Leslie
1%
Laurel
0%
Bell
28%

Clay
0%
4
Onroad
mobile
source
VOC
emissions
from
Bell
County
were
estimated
at
1.74
tpsd
in
2001.
Onroad
mobile
source
NOx
emissions
from
Bell
County
were
estimated
at
2.58
tpsd
in
2001
(
See
table
1­
D)

Commuting
traffic
from
other
counties
within
into
Bell
County
is
minimal,
and
the
commuting
traffic
from
Bell
County
into
other
counties
is
minimal.

Commuting
Classifications
Not
Significant
0­
10%
Minimal
11­
30%
High
31­
50%
Significant
51%
or
more
Conclusion
and
Recommendation
Although
Bell
County
recorded
a
violation
of
the
8­
hour
ozone
standard
based
on
2000
­
2002
monitoring
data,
NOAA's
Hysplit
back
trajectory
modeling
analyses
indicate
that
ozone
transport
may
be
responsible.
Therefore,
Bell
County
should
not
be
designated
nonattainment
for
the
8­
hour
ozone
standard
since
it
is
not
able
to
control
any
upwind
pollution
impacting
its
air
quality
(
Please
see
enclosed
Hysplit
back
trajectory
model
information).

While
it
is
Kentucky's
opinion
that
Bell
County
is
impacted
by
other
regional
emissions,
the
fact
remains
the
county
is
registering
a
violation
of
the
8­
hour
ozone
standard.
Therefore,
Kentucky
is
requesting
that
if
Bell
County
is
designated
nonattainment
that
a
designation
of
a
Rural
Transport
Area
as
described
in
Section
182
of
the
Clean
Air
Act
be
given.
Bell
County
is
a
rural
area
that
does
not
include,
and
is
not
adjacent
to,
any
part
of
a
metropolitan
statistical
area
or
consolidated
metropolitan
statistical
area.
Sources
of
VOC
and
NOx
emissions
within
the
area
do
not
make
a
significant
contribution
to
the
ozone
concentrations
measured
in
the
area.
5
Bell
County,
Kentucky
Area
Figure
1­
A
Wind
Rose
Patterns
Figure
1­
B
2001
Bell
County
Regional
Area
Point
Source
VOC
and
NOx
Emissions
(
tons
per
summer
day)

0.16
6.84
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.05
0.01
0.04
0.19
0.77
17.4
0
0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Bell
Clay
Harlan
Knox
Laurel
Leslie
Pulaski
Whitley
VOC
NOx
6
Table
1­
A
Ozone
Design
Values
(
parts
per
million)

County
2000
2001
2002
Design
Value
Kentucky
Bell
.090
.077
.091
.086
Pulaski
.087
.077
.081
.081
Tennessee
Knoxville
Area
Anderson
.093
.085
.099
.092
Blount
.096
.086
.102
.094
Knox
.100
.090
.098
.096
Sevier
(
GSM)
.096
.091
.103
.096
Sevier
(
CD)
.100
.093
.101
.098
Eastern
Tennessee
Sullivan
(
B)
.092
.085
.093
.090
Sullivan
(
K)
.097
.086
.093
.092
Table
1­
B
Bell
County
Regional
Area
Population
Growth
Data
County
1990
2000
%
Growth
1990
 
2000
2010
%
Growth
2000
 
2010
Bell
31,506
30,060
­
4.6%
28,588
­
4.9%

Clay
21,746
24,556
12.9%
27,615
12.5%

Harlan
36,574
33,202
­
9.2%
29,893
­
10.0%

Knox
29,676
31,795
7.1%
33,751
6.2%

Laurel
43,438
52,715
21.4%
63,370
20.2%

Leslie
13,642
12,401
­
9.1%
10,999
­
11.3%

Pulaski
49,489
56,217
13.6%
63,228
12.5%

Whitley
33,326
35,865
7.6%
38,411
7.1%

Overall
Growth
39.7%
32.2%
7
Table
1­
C
2001
Estimated
Bell
County
Regional
Area
Population
Kentucky
Estimated
Population
Bell
County
29,873
Clay
County
24,506
Harlan
County
32,683
Knox
County
31,717
Laurel
County
53,691
Leslie
County
12,315
Pulaski
County
56,774
Whitley
County
36,466
Total
Estimated
Population
278,025
Table
1­
D
2001
Bell
County
Regional
Area
VOC
and
NOx
Emissions
(
tons
per
summer
day)

VOC
NOx
County
Point
Mobile
Total
Point
Mobile
Total
Bell
0.16
1.74
1.90
6.84
2.58
9.42
Clay
0.00
0.00
Harlan
0.00
0.00
Knox
0.00
0.00
Laurel
1.05
0.01
Leslie
0.04
0.19
Pulaski
0.77
17.40
Whitley
0.00
0.00
Total
Emissions
2.02
24.44
