Boise Within Air Quality Standards... For Now

"Despite nearly 150 days of air quality alerts this year, the Treasure Valley appears to have stayed within federal air quality health standards for 2007.

But federal authorities are expected to toughen standards for ozone, the main component of smog, next year. That means that in the Valley, the pollutant - created when sunlight reacts with a brew of tailpipe exhaust, industrial pollution, fumes from gasoline pumping and natural emissions - could finally exceed health standards in 2008.

For Boise Democratic Sen. David Langhorst and Developer Peter O'Neill, the designation of the Treasure Valley as a "non-attainment area," where air quality violates health standards, would be a defeat. They and others have sought to prod the state and local governments to take a pro-active approach to keep the Treasure Valley from falling under federal control."