Clean, healthy air is one of our most valuable resources, and after decades-long efforts, it’s also one of the Spokane region’s biggest success stories.

Last August marked the end of a 20-year, federally mandated, maintenance period demonstrating continued compliance with clean air standards for carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM10).

“Spokane County’s air quality meets clean air standards nearly every day of the year, with a handful of exceptions that mainly occur during wildfire season, said SRCAA Executive Director April Westby. “This is a remarkable turnaround from the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, when the area routinely failed health-based clean air standards established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”

CO levels dropped and remained so low that the last CO monitoring site was removed in 2016.

Read more about this milestone in this fact sheet and other historical air quality information here.