DeSoto fires back at Shelby

Shelby County's claim that DeSoto is polluting its air is just that -- a claim, a DeSoto County official said Monday.

Jim McDougal, DeSoto County Planning Director, told the county's Board of Supervisors that there was no "evidence" to back up the claim made last week by Shelby Mayor A C Wharton that the county was in violation of air-quality standards.

McDougal said after receiving several calls about Wharton's statements about DeSoto County's air, he discussed the issue with the state Department of Environmental Quality, who in turn talked to EPA officials.

"We are not in any danger in being rated in the nonattainment area by the EPA, " McDougal told the board Monday.

Last week, Wharton in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency asked the federal agency to declare DeSoto County in violation of air-quality standards.

Wharton said in the letter that the EPA made an "error" three years ago when it excluded DeSoto County from the "nonattainment" area it designated in violation of federal ozone-pollution standards.

The Shelby and Crittenden County area was classified a "moderate" violator of air-quality standards three years ago and placed in the "nonattainment" area. But now, after the area failed to meet a June 15 deadline to comply with standards for ozone, the EPA is calling to reclassify the area a "marginal" violator.

Wharton said DeSoto's exclusion from the "nonattainment" area spared its businesses from stricter pollution-control requirements.

This resulted in DeSoto's increased pollution affecting Shelby and Crittenden counties, which under stricter EPA guidelines have cut their emissions.

"Our friends in Shelby County are being bumped up to the marginal level and they want to lump us all together," McDougal said. "And I don't want to get in a back and forth with Mayor Wharton, but we are not in violation. If we are, it is on such a minimal level. We can't do any more than EPA regulations allow us to do. "

Board president Bill Russell asked McDougal if he thought DeSoto County needed to tighten its air quality standards for industries in the area.

"In fairness to comments from Wharton he claims our industry doesn't have to install the same controls that Memphis industry does," Russell said. "Shouldn't we put the same guidelines on industry that Memphis does?"

McDougal responded with a simple "no."

He said there has been some preliminary discussion by local, state and federal officials to possibly put in place an emissions monitoring system for businesses in the county.

"We know who the seven industries in our county are and one option is that there would be a joint effort to work with them to cut back on emissions," he said. "But it would take 12 to 18 months to put in place and has only been briefly discussed."

McDougal pointed out that DeSoto County has already taken a proactive anti-pollution step this year by adopting its anti-idling policy that discourages employees from keeping engines running in county vehicles when the vehicles aren't in use.