Bad air prompts stricter burn ban.

Deteriorating air quality that can have significant health effects has prompted the first elevated burn ban in the Upper Yakima Valley in seven years.

[News Source]

Dirty air triggers ‘red alert’ for valley. Rising amounts of microscopic soot nudged pollution levels Wednesday into the "unhealthy" range for people considered vulnerable. [News Source]

The soupy season. With stricter federal rules, Utah's heavily populated Wasatch Front will see more mandatory no-burn days this winter. [News Source]

EPA may drop lead air pollution limits (AP via Yahoo! News) The Bush administration is considering doing away with health standards that cut lead from gasoline, widely regarded as one of the nation's biggest clean-air accomplishments. [News Source]

City pushes for strictest air-quality standard. The city of Grand Junction joined with a litany of other western Colorado municipalities and counties Wednesday night in supporting the strictest oil and gas industry air emissions standard for the Western Slope. [News Source]

Lawmakers question boards’ actions. Legislators applied verbal wrist slaps yesterday to panels that fight air and water pollution. The main target was the State Air Pollution Control Board. [News Source]

State will require pollution cuts. The Virginia Air Pollution Control Board voted 5-0 yesterday to require sharp cuts in power-plant emissions, beginning in 2009. [News Source]

State will require pollution cuts. The Virginia Air Pollution Control Board voted 5-0 yesterday to require sharp cuts in power-plant emissions, beginning in 2009. [News Source]

Boxer promises focus on California environmental issues. Sen. Barbara Boxer has promised to focus on ocean and wilderness protection, water cleanup and Central Valley air quality as chair of the Senate Environment Committee. [News Source]

U.S. mulls removing lead from list of pollutants. U.S. environmental regulators are considering removing lead, a heavy metal linked to learning problems in children, from a list of regulated pollutants because past rules have greatly reduced levels of the toxin. [News Source]

Last minute move would delay EPA rule. Farmers would be off the hook for costly air pollution cleanups under an obscure provision slipped into a tax bill that may be the last act of this Congress. [News Source]