After years of smog, a shroud lifts

The Denver skyline has a different look these days: It's become more visible.

Denver hasn't exceeded a single federal health standard for air quality since 1999. Now the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to declare Denver's air in full compliance with national standards. The official designation, expected soon, would mean that Denver's air passes federal muster for the first time in 30 years.

This is no small achievement. Before there was a Denver International Airport, a Colorado Rockies baseball team, or even the Denver Avalanche hockey team, the Mile High City was best known for smudged skies. Two decades ago, Denver was violating federal air-quality standards more than 200 days a year. Denver's notorious "brown cloud" regularly shrouded the city, obscuring snow-topped mountains that crown the horizon.

"Denver is the first city that has gone from the depths of air pollution, to a level where they are now attaining all [federal] standards," says Richard Long, EPA's air program director in Denver. "That's a remarkable accomplishment."

While metropolitan air quality throughout the United States has improved vastly in the last decade – thanks mostly to cleaner-burning automobiles and enforcement of the Clean Air Act's strict 1990 amendments – no other city has achieved a turnaround comparable to Denver's.

Beginning in the late 1970s, and continuing through the 1980s, Denver and Los Angeles shared the unwelcome distinction of having the worst air in the country. On any given day, both were in violation of five major federal standards: particulates, ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and lead. But while Los Angeles air remains among the nation's worst, Denver has distinguished itself by making unparalleled gains in cleaning its skies.

The EPA's proposal to remove Denver from its list of worst-air cities is subject to a 30-day public-comment period, after which the EPA will issue a final ruling.

"It eliminates the stigma from Denver," says Doug Benevento, environmental director for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, echoing the feel-good sentiments of local officials. "You can't call Denver a 'bad-air city' anymore."

That's not to say that Denver is pollution-free. "We do still have a lingering pollution problem," says Mr. Long. "We meet all the health standards, and that's a tremendous accomplishment. But it's not a pristine area."

Even residents see as much brown as they do civic pride: The fact that Denver's air remains visible is a nagging concern. "The air still looks gross," says Christine Knight, a commuter and Denver native now living in suburban Adams County. "Especially after looking at it, I don't want to breathe it."

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