Detroit City Council OKs greater accountability with new 'fugitive dust' ordinance

Detroit City Council approved changes to its fugitive dust ordinance to improve accountability and help ensure that operators comply with cleaner air regulations.

Dozens of residents urged council members to pass the ordinance, which calls for further mitigation efforts to minimize fugitive dust, such as a 5% opacity limit on the operator's premises and requiring air monitors on certain sites to help with compliance. Opacity measures the level at which dust obscures an individual's view, according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

Fugitive dust is "particulate matter that enters the atmosphere without first passing through a stack or duct designed to direct or control its flow," according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

'The tools are there' to make the ordinance work

Council member Gabriela Santiago-Romero said the ordinance is personal.

"I live in southwest Detroit down the street from industry and developments. The wind blows and then so does the dust. It's very scary to know that the implications are really negative health issues," Santiago-Romero said. "The industry concerns are real and valid, and we made sure that we came up with something that could be enforceable that could make a change. So we'll continue to do that and continue to see what is needed to make it stronger in the future. But for now, I think we have something that's good that we can build off of."

Regulating fugitive dust has been an ongoing effort in Detroit since former council member Raquel Castañeda-López introduced and passed an ordinance to regulate storage and transportation of carbon-containing materials and reduce dust nearly four years after piles of petroleum coke were stored along the Detroit River. Santiago-Romero further aimed to push for dust mitigation efforts after residents faced a series of issues, such as film and soot coating their homes, vehicles and causing respiratory problems.

Santiago-Romero emphasized that the ordinance does not include typical dirt on organic grounds, rather it's aimed at targeting dust that carries dangerous particles. The city's Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department has trained certified inspectors to identify fugitive dust breaching opacity limits.

"It's not impossible to do this work. When there's a will, there's a way. The tools are there. The education is there. We are putting those together to make sure that this works," Santiago-Romero said.

Particulates sometimes force people to stay indoors

Fugitive dust includes any solid particulate matter that becomes airborne or otherwise moves beyond the premises, or if transported by vehicle, moves beyond the confines of the vehicle, by natural or human-made activities, excluding engine combustion exhaust and particulate matter emitted from a properly permitted exhaust stack, according to the ordinance.

Dozens of public commenters said changes to the fugitive dust laws are a "life and death matter" and that residents often stay inside their homes due to breathing issues from excess dust spreading across neighborhoods.

Erin Stanley, director of climate equity for the Eastside Community Network, said the ordinance is a step toward a broader policy "that can prioritize health over profit and make sure we don’t live in a city that doesn’t poison its own people."

Theresa Landrum, who has spoken out against dust affecting her neighborhood, urged officials to enforce changes that would protect the health of residents.

"We would not need these amendments if the industries were not adding to our poor air quality. The protection of our children is paramount," Landrum said. "We continue to wash our houses down because of the dust coming from surrounding industries."

Others like Sue Hanf, who works for Cadillac Asphalt, sought a partnership with organizations and companies in compliance to prevent penalizing them unfairly.

"There are good operators, bad operators, there are some companies like ours that have been operating under the current fugitive dust that we’ve been in compliance with. I would just urge that there be some kind of partnership because there’s some things in the new fugitive dust ordinance that might be hard to comply with, or at least be unreasonable for some opacity, the timing for correction action measures and some other things like high wind events," Hanf said.

Superior Materials Holdings President Jeff Krupcale supports the ordinance but asked officials to ensure it's effective. Krupcale asked officials to reconsider the 5% opacity limit, and pointed out that a two-week window to correct any issues may force businesses to shut down on community projects. He asked officials to extend the timeline to correct potential violations.

"Five percent is barely visible to the human eye. Vehicles establish opacity limits from fugitive dust sources from 5% to 20% levels," Krupcale said. "Every community establishment that has a car driven on a paved or unpaved area and parking areas … will exceed 5% opacity. We should respectfully suggest the city review the science behind opacity."

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit City Council approves fugitive dust ordinance