ForConstructionPros.com

Increasingly strict regulations and steep fines should be a wake-up call that dust control enforcement is not about to go away. Instead, it is going to continue to spread.

Consider Maricopa County, AZ, home to Phoenix and its surrounding metropolitan areas. According to Lang & Baker, a Scottsdale-based law firm, the county has repeatedly failed to reach attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for airborne particulate matter. As a result, it had to adopt a plan to reduce emissions by 5% each year until it meets the standards, or face federal fines and the threat of losing $1 billion in federal highway funds.

The Maricopa County Air Quality Department (MCAQD) claims dust from unstable or disturbed surfaces is the largest contributor to the county's failure to meet federal standards. It asserts that 51% of all construction sites in the Phoenix Valley have committed dust control violations.

Predictably, the fines handed out to contractors are rising sharply. According to MCAQD, dust violations were responsible for half of the $3.7 million in air pollution fines levied in 2006. In 2007, the fines exceeded $5.3 million. This is partially due to increased enforcement.

"The number of inspectors jumped from eight to 81 in the last 18 months, and we expect that number to get bigger," says Michael Thal, Lang & Baker. "More inspectors allow for more inspections, more notices of violations and more fines."