Air Resources

Good air quality is important for the protection of human health and the environment, and understanding atmospheric dynamics and air pollution sources is a critical element of maintaining healthy air quality. Air pollution can have detrimental effects on human health, wildlife, vegetation, waters, soils, and visibility. Air pollution includes gases and particles in the air that are emitted by both human-initiated activities and natural sources and can be transported long distances by winds and deposited on land and water bodies through deposition from rain and snowfall.

The Clean Air Act establishes EPA’s regulatory responsibility and authority to delegate responsibility for air quality programs to state and tribal governments. Who may further delegate air quality responsibilities to city or county agencies. All state, tribal, and local agency regulatory actions are subject to EPA oversight. The EPA establishes the National Ambient Air Quality Standards as well as other federal air regulations.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is mandated under The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) to manage the public lands in a manner that protects air quality and atmospheric resources while supporting multiple uses and sustained yield. The BLM's role in air resource protection is multifaceted often requiring complex analysis of air and atmospheric values on the public lands it manages. The BLM Air Resource Program uses the best available science to consider the potential effects of projects, programs, and activities on air quality. BLM Air Resource Specialists work with other technical experts in State regulatory agencies and Federal Land Managers (National Park Service, Forest Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service) to ensure that air quality impacts from BLM actions meet Clean Air Act requirements.

The BLM Air Resource team includes atmospheric scientists, chemical engineers, environmental engineers, environmental scientists, and fuels/fire management specialists who implement the Bureau’s air resource goals and responsibilities and incorporate air resource protections and adaptive management into the BLM's land use planning process, individual programs, and resource management activities. The Specialists identify and assist with compliance of applicable air quality regulations, interagency coordination efforts, air emissions and meteorological monitoring, project emissions inventory development, air quality modeling, impact analysis narratives, legal support, and public outreach and education opportunities.