North
Carolina
Recommendation
for
Rowan
County
The
purpose
of
this
paper
is
to
discuss
the
rationale
for
recommending
less
than
the
entire
Rowan
County
as
nonattainment
for
the
8­
hour
ozone
standard,
which
is
part
of
the
Charlotte/
Gastonia/
Rock
Hill
Metropolitan
Statistical
Area
(
MSA).
We
recommend
the
following
five
small
townships
in
the
northwestern
corner
of
the
county
located
in
2
Census
tracts
containing
50­
100
people
per
square
mile
not
to
be
designated
nonattainment:
Cleveland,
Mount
Ulla,
Scotch
Irish,
Steele,
and
Unity
township.
This
MSA
County
has
the
Enochville
and
Rockwell
monitor
located
in
it.

 
First,
this
area
has
a
moderate
8­
hour
ozone
problem,
with
a
design
value
in
2001­
2003
for
both
monitors
of
0.099
ppm.
Recent
future
year
modeling
results
for
2007
show
the
DVF
value
of
0.090
ppm
classifying
this
area
in
the
marginal
category.
 
Second,
winds
in
Rowan
County
are
climatologically
from
the
southwest.
With
this
climatological
wind
pattern,
the
county
is
not
in
an
upwind
sector
that
would
routinely
have
an
impact
on
air
quality
in
the
urban
portion
of
the
Charlotte/
Gastonia/
Rock
Hill
MSA.
On
the
days
when
the
two
monitors
exceed
the
8­
hour
standard,
it
appears
to
be
measuring
the
urban
plume
or
pollution
from
the
Charlotte.
As
the
pollution
in
the
Charlotte
area
is
reduced,
the
monitors
should
observe
lower
ozone
levels.

 
Third,
based
on
1997
emissions
inventories,
Rowan
County
has
47.67
tons
per
day
of
NOx
(
state
total
is
2529
tons
per
day)
and
the
county
has
26.70
tons
per
day
of
VOC
(
state
total
is
1842
tons
per
day
 
anthropogenic
only).
In
Rowan
County
there
are
some
major
point
sources
subject
to
control.
In
particular,
the
Buck
Steam
Station
will
have
controls
put
on
to
meet
both
the
NOx
SIP
Call
and
the
Clean
Smokestacks
Act.
The
impact
of
the
Transco
Natural
Gas
Pumping
Station
(
located
southwest
of
Rowan
County)
NOx
emissions
from
neighboring
Iredell
County
will
be
controlled
under
the
NOx
SIP
Call
and
the
Clean
Smokestacks
Act.
 
Fourth,
another
major
NOx
emissions
source
in
Rowan
County
are
mobile
sources
(
16.36
tons
of
the
47.67
tons
come
from
mobile
sources
each
day,
and
an
additional
6.03
tons
per
day
comes
from
nonroad
sources).
The
combined
Federal
and
state
control
programs
will
address
these
emissions
including
the
introduction
of
low
sulfur
gasoline
statewide.
In
July
of
2003
Rowan
County
began
implementing
an
I/
M
program
that
requires
OBD
testing
for
model
year
1996
and
newer
cars.
Expansion
of
this
program
has
or
will
be
phased
in
neighboring
counties
in
this
region
by
January
1,
2004.
These
counties
include
Catawba,
Davidson,
Iredell,
Rowan,
Lincoln,
Stanley
and
Union.
 
Fifth,
the
population
in
the
5
townships
North
Carolina
recommends
to
be
excluded
from
the
nonattainment
area
represents
7.5
percent
of
the
total
Rowan
county
population.
The
northwest
corner
is
a
rural
area
as
indicated
in
the
2
Census
tracts
containing
50­
100
people
per
square
mile.
Traffic
and
commuting
patterns
analysis
show
that
Rowan
County
ranked
number
7
for
commuters
driving
into
Mecklenburg
County.
Only
1.0
percent
of
all
commuters
are
from
Rowan
County.
Also
the
expected
population
growth
for
this
county
between
2000
and
2010
is
only16.2%
as
compared
to
Mecklenburg
County
(
29.3
percent).
 
Based
on
the
information
presented
above,
North
Carolina
continues
to
believe
this
is
an
appropriate
boundary
for
this
region.
This
site
is
clearly
a
"
downwind"
area
from
the
emissions
of
any
consequence
and
the
Enochville
and
Rockwell
monitors
were
sited
at
these
locations
to
be
the
downwind
monitor
for
the
upwind
source
area
that
North
Carolina
is
recommending
for
non­
attainment.
