High Winds Stall Rawlins Air Monitor Setup — For Now

Wyoming’s famous wind is doing what it does best: slowing things down, Bigfoot99 reports.

A plan to install a temporary air-quality monitoring station in Rawlins has been delayed because of strong winds, City Attorney Pinita Maberry-Nave told the Rawlins City Council at its November 4 meeting.

Back in August, the council approved a proposal from Air Resource Specialists, a Fort Collins–based company, to place a mobile air monitoring station on an unused section of city property behind the Rawlins Family Recreation Center. The city signed an 18-month contract with the firm on August 19.

The station itself is basically a pull-behind trailer outfitted with weather instruments and a large antenna on the roof. Once up and running, it will collect local air quality data and beam it straight to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

In return for hosting the station, Air Resource Specialists will pay the City of Rawlins $150 a month and pick up the tab for electricity. The agreement can be ended early or extended at the city’s discretion.

But so far, the winds haven’t cooperated. Maberry-Nave said the gusty conditions have delayed the station’s installation, which is why, as of last Thursday afternoon, the trailer still hadn’t been set up behind the recreation center.

Once the station is finally in place, the Wyoming DEQ plans to hold a public information meeting to explain why the monitor is there, what it measures, and how residents can access the data.