Salt Lake County ranked No. 7 on list of most polluted housing markets

Salt Lake County ranked No. 7 on list of most polluted housing markets

(Ravell Call/Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — An online financial news and opinion company released a list of top 10 polluted housing markets in the country and Salt Lake County's bad air, number of EPA Superfund sites and polluters per square mile earned it the No. 7 spot.

The rankings by 24/7 Wall St., based on data compiled by Homefacts, raised eyebrows of Utah's air quality regulators, who wondered aloud why spots like Los Angeles failed to make the list.

"If you look at air pollution, there are many areas that are not on that list that are certainly more polluted, so I am not really sure what their criteria was and how they looked at things," said Bryce Bird, director of the Utah Division of Air Quality.

"There are no California cities on the list at all and certainly air pollution-wise, Los Angeles has over 100 days a year that are over the current standard. It appears to be an arbitrary criteria that they used."

The report looks at housing markets where man-made pollution could pose serious problems for potential homebuyers — from the extreme number of former meth lab homes in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to New Jersey's Essex County, which has more EPA national priority-designated Superfund sites per square mile than any other large housing market.

The evaluation looked only at counties with a population of at least 100,000 and derived its scores from three broad areas: air quality, Superfund sites and number of environmental hazards, which include designated polluters in the EPA's toxic inventory, brownfields and former drug labs.

Air quality and Superfund sites each accounted for 20 percent of the score, while 60 percent was derived from other environmental hazards.


If you look at air pollution, there are many areas that are not on that list that are certainly more polluted, so I am not really sure what their criteria was and how they looked at things.

–Bryce Bird, Utah Division of Air Quality


In its analysis, 24/7 Wall St. notes global environmental matters tend to grab headlines, but human impacts on the environment can play out significantly in a stretch of a few city blocks or to a nearby river.

"It can be extremely difficult to gauge the effects of man-made hazards. The ramifications of such hazards on both the environment and local economies may not be understood for many years if not decades," the report notes. "In addition, homebuyers do not necessarily take environmental hazards into account when selecting a home to purchase.

The narrative on Salt Lake County's ranking pays particular attention to air quality and notes that for nearly 12 percent of the time, air quality is considered hazardous.

"The region’s air pollution problem is recognized by the county’s health department, and local officials have identified motor vehicles — responsible for roughly half of the particulate pollution — as a major culprit," it said.

Bird said it does not make sense for the ranking to list Salt Lake County's air quality problem as the 21st highest when other cities with worse air pollution problems failed to even get a mention.

"I do not have access to their criteria, but that said, this does reinforce the efforts we are making to correct this problem," he said. "We are developing plans, making laws and enforcing regulations to make sure we are meeting those standards as quickly as possible."

24/7 Wall St. Top 10 most polluted housing markets
  1. St. Louis, Missouri
  2. Baltimore, Maryland
  3. Hudson County, New Jersey
  4. Essex County, New Jersey
  5. Denver County, Colorado
  6. Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
  7. Salt Lake County, Utah
  8. Middlesex County, New Jersey
  9. Jackson County, Missouri
  10. Tulsa County, Oklahoma

Source: 247wallst.com

Utah's winter inversions have been a rallying cry for clean air advocates who last year staged a protest that drew thousands to the steps of the Utah State Capitol. With national and international media noting the Wasatch Front's dirty air as the worst in the country (for one 24-hour period) and comparisons to Beijing, the task of improving air quality has taken on a political and economic urgency. Lawmakers passed a record number of bills this past session to deal with the problem.

Nearly two dozen new regulations aimed at large and small businesses as well as individual consumers are on the books after being endorsed by the Utah Air Quality Board and $500,000 will fuel a clean air informational campaign this winter.

Dave Anderton, a spokesman with the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, said the rankings point to a problem that is on everyone's mind certain days of the winter — but it is not an issue that routinely crops up for homebuyers in the Salt Lake market.

"When people go to look for a home, the first factor is the job and the price of the homes," he said. "We have a lot of good air days, and our quality of life is still outstanding here in Salt Lake City."

The organization this past summer partnered with the Utah Transit Authority and gave away more than 500 Ride Clear passes to cut down on tailpipe emissions, chipping in $30,000 to help reduce July ozone.

"Until we replace the internal combustion engine, we are going to have this issue," he said. "Most of that inversion comes from all of us driving around."

The rankings and analysis can be found at 247wallst.com

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