Gov. Jim Doyle asked the Environmental Protection Agency Monday not to label six Wisconsin counties as having poor air quality.
The EPA released a report in August 2008 classifying Dane, Milwaukee, Brown, Waukesha, Columbia and Racine counties as noncompliant with air-quality standards.
According to the EPA, these counties have poor air-quality with an excess of fine particulates, violating the PM2.5 standard that sets a limit for the amount of fine particles in the air.
In a letter to the EPA, Doyle said the data used to classify the Wisconsin counties was from 2005, 2006 and 2007, but more recent data would suggest the air quality is fine.
[The] updated monitoring data is from 2006, 2007 and 2008 and shows that Dane and Brown counties are not violating the PM2.5 standard,"" he said.
Jennifer Feyerherm, director of the Wisconsin Clean Energy Campaign for the Sierra Club, said Doyle is using incomplete information to determine the quality of Wisconsin's air.
The Clean Air Act requires three complete years of information to be used to determine air quality, and the last three years show Dane, Milwaukee and Brown counties as violating EPA air quality standards, according to Feyerherm.
""The Bush Administration EPA is trying to enforce the Clean Air Act and Doyle wants weaker regulations,"" Feyerherm said.
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state's largest business interest group, supports Doyle's recommendations, saying in a statement it ""will help promote a vibrant business climate.""
Data up to 2006 lists the Charter Street Power Plant, located on campus, as the second largest polluter in Dane County - second only to the Madison Gas and Electric's Blount Street Power Plant, which is also located near campus.
According to Feyerherm, the worst time of year for fine air particulates is the winter months and there was a day in December 2007 when air quality reached a ""code red"" level.
The final decision on the classification of the six Wisconsin counties will be released around mid-December, according to EPA spokesperson Phillippa Cannon.
Doyle's office could not be reached at press time for comments.
