Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program
Alternative Analysis of 2004-2005 Owens Lake
Supplemental Control Area Determination
(NOTE: The files may take some time to download.)
As a result of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) entered between the City and Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District (GBUAPCD), the Owens Lake Dust Mitigation Program seeks to mitigate air quality impacts at Owens Lake.
In the MOA the City committed to:
1. completing at least 10 square miles of dust controls by the end of 2001
2. completing an additional 3.5 square miles by 2002
3. completing an additional 3.0 square miles by 2003
4. completing the additional areas delineated in GBUAPCD’s revised 2003 State Implementation Plan (SIP)
The SIP will demonstrate that upon completion of the City’s work, emissions from Owens Lake bed will have been reduced so that the Owens Valley Planning Area will attain and maintain the federal Clean Air Act ambient air quality standards for particulate matter. The federal Clean Air Act requires that Owens Lake meets ambient air quality standards by the end of 2006.
Best Available Control Measures
The MOA specified that the City must choose from amongst 3 control measures the GBUAPCD has certified as Best Available Control Measures (BACM) for Owens Lake. The 3 BACM are Shallow Flooding, Managed Vegetation, and Gravel. The first phase of dust control implementation, completed December 2001, consists of 13.5 square miles of Shallow Flooding.
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Shallow Flooding
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Shallow Flooding involves flooding the area to be controlled until it is either inundated with a few inches of water or the soil becomes thoroughly saturated to the surface with water.
The second phase of dust control implementation, completed in July 2002, consists of nearly five square miles Managed Vegetation. Managed Vegetation involves growing native vegetative cover that will by hold the shifting and emissive lakebed in place, locking up the dust.
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Managed Vegetation
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The third phase of dust control implementation, completed in March 2003, consists of one and a third square miles of additional Shallow Flooding.
To date, the City has completed construction on approximately 19 square miles. Therefore, the city is nearly 2/3 complete with its obligation. Planning and design are currently underway for the additional 11 square miles to be specified in GBUAPCD’s revised SIP. An additional two to four construction phases are expected to meet these requirements. The Department of Water and Power is currently evaluating its budget for the program based on the GBUAPCD’s SIP.