To get the facts and learn more about SVRA dust emissions, click these FAQ links.
CLEARING THE AIR
The
following
facts
address
false
claims
by
some
who
oppose
the
SVRA
particulate
matter
reduction
efforts
ordered
by
the
APCD
Hearing
Board’s
Stipulated
Order
of
Abatement
(SOA).
A
preliminary
Scripps
Institute
Study
report
is
being
cited
to
discredit
the
scientific basis for the Stipulated Order of Abatement. Why is this wrong?
To
begin
with,
the
Scripps
study
report
implies
conclusions
that
are
inconsistent
with
the
wealth
of
information
gathered
over
the
last
20
years
by
experts
in
the
field
of
study.
That
includes
studies
initiated
by
State
Parks
from
the Desert Research Institute and by other independent researchers using proven techniques.
In
addition,
the
Scripps
report
focuses
on
particulate
matter
PM
2.5
instead
of
particulate
matter
PM10,
which
is
the
regulated
pollutant
that
most
affects
the
Nipomo
Mesa
and
is
the
pollutant
that
most
often
violates
air
quality
standards
and
is
targeted
for
improvement
by
dust
control
measures
on
the
Oceano
Dunes
off-road
vehicle park.
Finally,
publicly
available
documentation
prepared
by
the
Scientific
Advisory
Group
(SAG)
explains
how
the
measurement
methods
used
by
the
Scripps
researchers
for
collecting
the
PM
2.5
samples
were
unconventional
and unproven. The SAG is not aware of any other studies using these methods.
The off-road community has been promoting a WeatherSolve wind fence as
a viable alternative to resolve the air pollution problem in lieu of the dust
control measures currently being implemented. Why is WeatherSolve not
being tried?
The
Scientific
Advisory
Group,
working
with
State
Parks
and
the
Air
Pollution
Control
District
to
resolve
the
dunes
dust
issue,
contends
that
the
proposed
wind
fence
would
be
completely
ineffective
at
reducing
airborne
particulate
dust
generated
within
ODSVRA.
As
proposed,
the
wind
fence
would
be
installed
on
the
downwind
edge
of
the
ODSVRA.
Thus,
the
vast
majority
of
emissive
surfaces
within
ODSVRA
would
experience
no
change
in
surface wind speed or shearing stress and, therefore, no change in particulate dust emissions.
Similar
to
the
sand
fence
arrays
deployed
to
reduce
coarser
sand
transport
(saltation),
multiple
lines
of
wind
fencing
would
need
to
be
placed
across
vast
expanses
of
the
dune
surfaces
for
this
technology
to
be
effective.
The
costs
to
install
and
maintain
such
an
array
of
wind
fencing
would
be
immense
and
probably
prohibitive.
An
additional
and
very
important
limitation
of
this
type
of
fence
is
that
it
is
designed
to
release
the
mesh
during
high
wind
events,
which
is
when
dust
emissions
on
the
dunes
are
typically
of
greatest
concern,
further
reducing
any
effectiveness in modulating sand transport and dust emissions.
Therefore,
the
Scientific
Advisory
Group’s
evaluation
is
based
on
the
recognition
that
the
use
of
such
a
wind
fence, as proposed, will be ineffective .