The agreement provides ambient air monitoring of pollutants of greatest concern (particulate matter, ozone, and volatile organic compounds) in communities with environmental and health outcome risks…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 8, awarded $339,178 to the San Juan Resource Conservation & Development Council on July 15, 2025, under CFDA 66.034 (Surveys, Studies, Research, Investigations, Demonstrations, and Special Purpose Activities Relating to the Clean Air Act). This three-year project, extending through July 14, 2028, establishes enhanced ambient air quality monitoring in Archuleta, La Plata, and San Juan Counties in Colorado, with emphasis on particulate matter (PM), ozone, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The project leverages Fort Lewis College's air quality expertise alongside the Council's project management and communications capacity to expand monitoring capabilities and engage nearby communities affected by air pollution sources.

The grant funds a dual-monitoring approach combining stationary and movable sensors providing near-real-time data with laboratory-grade air canister samplers for detailed VOC speciation analysis. A key deliverable is a community checkout program enabling neighborhood residents to deploy PM sensors at locations of concern for one- to two-week periods. The project emphasizes community engagement, capacity building, and partnership development among community members, tribal, state, and local governments to foster trust-based relationships and sustainable air quality solutions in environmental justice communities impacted by both air pollution and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agreement provides ambient air monitoring of pollutants of greatest concern (particulate matter, ozone, and volatile organic compounds) in communities with environmental and health outcome risks stemming from pollution and the covid-19 pandemic. The SAN juan resource conservation and development council and its partners propose to enhance monitoring of ozone and particulate matter in archuleta, LA plata and SAN juan counties in colorado by leveraging the ambient air quality monitoring expertise of fort lewis college with the communications and project management capacity of SAN juan resource conservation and development council. This project will engage and inform these communities and neighborhoods near known emitters of air pollution.activities:the activities will be used to support community and local efforts to monitor the air quality and to promote air quality monitoring partnerships between communities and tribal, state, and local governments that: leverage existing air quality expertise, expand use of community monitoring groups and other approaches that give the nearby neighborhoods a voice in the monitoring of the air quality, and build a foundation of trusting relationships and enhanced understanding from which sustainable solutions to community air pollution problems can be found. The monitoring approach is a combination of stationary and movable sensors that provide near-real-time data to support short-term deployments in a variety of locations, plus laboratory-grade air canister samplers for speciation and quantification to further investigate VOC-related air quality problems. The project will allow individual community members and neighborhood representatives to set up and use a PM sensor at a location of their choosing for one to two weeks in response to an observed air quality concern. Fixed sensors, movable equipment and the community checkout program will all be guided by continuous community outreach and communication about the project.subrecipient:fort lewis college will use these funds to support a student worker to perform basic data analysis and field work. Costs are based on fort lewis college's standard student worker rates at 320 hours per year.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include deployment of equipment to conduct air quality monitoring of nearby communities, near-real-time air quality data available for communities, policymakers, and other stakeholders, assessments of air pollution data, new partnerships and community involvements, and quarterly and final progress reports. The expected outcomes include air quality problem identification, increased community awareness and use of protective behaviors, increased access to information for policymakers and the public, and reductions in air quality health risks over time. The intended beneficiaries include the communities in archuleta, LA plata, SAN juan counties, the city of durango, silverton, pagosa springs, bayfield, ignacio, arboles, chromo, hesperus, and the southern UTE indian tribe.