Monitoring Air Quality for a Superior Future

About the Community 

Superior, WI is in Douglas County; the city borders Lake Superior to the east and is known to experience a lake weather effect. The lake effect  plays a significant role in shaping the local weather, and can result in conditions that differ dramatically from those in nearby areas just a few miles away. The lake effect can lead to increased fog, temperature shifts, and unique wind patterns. The city has a population of ~27,000 individuals and is predominantly white. Most individuals hold a high-school diploma or higher. Superior has an active city council.

Within Superior, the fossil fuel industry has a strong presence and is a major source of employment. Within city limits, there is an oil refinery, a coal power plant, a limestone processing plant, and a taconite processing facility, among other industries. There are up to four PurpleAir monitors in Superior. According to PurpleAir the historical data of 3 days should be free and publicly available via their webportal. However, these monitors only record small Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and do not monitor volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ozone, or  larger PM (PM 10). The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has used monitors located in Duluth, MN to issue air permits in the past  and determine if air quality is within national standards. As these monitors are upwind and at a slightly higher elevation, they are likely not representative of the local air quality.

The community is concerned about the local air quality and potential short- and long-term negative health outcomes. After hearing about a successful TEX project in Beloit, WI, the community decided to apply with the goal to place local air quality monitors which allow for continuous monitoring of PM 2.5 and VOCs in areas of impact.

The community has been working to address air quality concerns for over a year. A small network of individuals was established to record information about odors occurring, specific to the oil refinery and prevailing wind direction The city of Superior has acquired five PurpleAir monitors; two are currently operating at local fire department stations. However, these monitors may not be ideally placed to quantify the air quality of the community. The community has been in communication with the EPA and the WI DNR. The WI DNR has told the community that there is a lack of funding for a regulatory air monitor in Superior, despite having the only oil refinery in the state. The EPA recommendations are that air monitoring near refineries should be downwind and in residential areas of concern for VOCs and PM 2.5. The nearest PM2.5 regulatory air monitor is upwind of our Superior industry; this contradicts what the EPA recommends. There is no real time VOC air monitoring available.

About the Project 

This project was developed to address community concerns about air quality in Superior, Wisconsin. It has two primary components: a community-led odor reporting network and the installation of two air quality sensors. Both efforts are ongoing and are intended to improve understanding of local air quality conditions.

The odor reporting network provides residents with a structured and low-barrier way to anonymously document odor events. As of July 2026, community members have submitted over 250 odor reports.

The project’s first sensor was installed in a public park in July 2026, and a second sensor installed in another public park one month later. The sensors continuously measure nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), PM2.5, and PM10, along with wind speed, wind direction, air temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure. Monitoring will continue for 12 months, with current readings and historical trends available through a public online dashboard.

After the monitoring period, the sensor data will be analyzed alongside the odor reports to identify patterns in when and where air quality concerns occur and to assess potential impacts on the community. Guidance from the project’s scientific experts will help determine how these patterns can be evaluated, communicated, and applied.

The project’s findings are meant to reach both decision-makers and residents. For decision-makers, the project will develop recommendations for the Superior City Council on how air quality could factor into decisions about industrial development or expansion. Community leads have already met with the City Council, the mayor, and state representatives to raise awareness of local concerns and discuss how the findings might inform policy. For residents, the project team will develop educational materials and opportunities for public discussion that explain the concerns associated with air quality, provide location-specific information where possible, and help residents understand what they can do to reduce their exposure.

Timeline and Milestones

This project will take 18-24 months to complete and will include the following key milestones:

Completed:

• Recruit scientific experts – Completed [June 2025]
• Establish a formal and streamlined community-odor reporting network – Completed [June 2025]
• Select air quality sensors and monitoring locations, coordinating with the City of Superior – Completed [March 2026]
• Deploy the air-quality sensors – Completed [July 2026]
• Engage with elected officials – Completed initial outreach; engagement ongoing Community leads have met or communicated with the Superior City Council, the mayor, and state representatives about community air-quality concerns and the goals of the project.

In Progress:

• Launch a public air-quality dashboard – Anticipated Summer 2026
• Collect community odor reports – Ongoing
• Conduct air-quality monitoring and data-quality review – Anticipated July 2026– 2027
• Provide community education and project updated – Ongoing

Future:

• Analyze sensor and community-reported data — Anticipated Summer–Fall 2027
• Evaluate potential community impacts — Anticipated Fall 2027
• Share findings and recommendations — Anticipated late 2027

Community Leads

Patty Meysman-Lier lives in Superior, Wisconsin with her husband and they have two grown daughters. Patty worked for 35 plus years as a RN and retired in 2023. Patty believes the community needs to better understand the cumulative health implications of living near two fossil fuel industries. There is an oil refinery in the city and now there is a proposal to build a 625 MW gas plant near the refinery.

Pam Savoy is a life-long resident of Superior, WI her husband and her raised their two sons here and are currently enjoying retirement. She became a member of “Neighbors Against NTEC” which was formed by a group of citizens in 2024 to protest the proposed Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC) 625 megawatt natural gas power plant. Superior is home to an oil refinery as well as other industry, which causes concern about air quality and the health effects of adding more fossil fuel industry to our small community. Pam learned that the nearest EPA regulatory air monitor is approximately 5.5 miles west of Superior in Duluth MN, and the prevailing westerly winds carry pollutants from our industry away from that monitor. Her involvement with “Neighbors Against NTEC” has prompted her to become an advocate for obtaining an EPA regulatory air monitor that can accurately represent the current PM2.5 particulate matter exposure to the residents of the community.

Thomas Markee has lived in Superior, Wisconsin for over fifty years and with his wife, raised three children, two daughters and a son. Shortly after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Superior, he was offered a position at the University’s Lake Superior Research Institute and worked there for over forty years doing in environmental research studies. Thomas served as the lead chemist on a variety of projects including water quality studies, toxicity of chemicals to aquatic organisms, and concentrations of mercury and other toxic metals in various aquatic organisms. He was later asked to become involved with air quality monitoring in Superior. For over thirty years, Thomas monitored air quality for both the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and a number of industries in Superior who were required to have air monitoring conducted as a requirement of their operating permits.

Community Scientist

Albert Presto is a research professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, and the director of the Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies (CAPS). Presto’s research focuses on pollutant emissions from energy extraction and consumption and the subsequent atmospheric transformations that these emissions undergo. In addition to having environmental impacts, these pollutants, particularly ozone and particulate matter, adversely impact human health. Presto collaborates with medical professionals to develop detailed studies of pollutant exposure on a neighborhood-by-neighborhood basis, and to better understand the relationships between pollutant emissions and adverse health effects such as childhood asthma.

Community Science Fellow

Carly Frank is currently a PhD candidate in the interdisciplinary Ecological Science and Engineering program and the Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science Department at Purdue University. She received her MSc from the University of Maine in Quaternary and Climate Studies. In addition to her MSc, Carly earned graduate certificates in One Health and Interdisciplinary Climate Science.

Her research uses qualitative and quantitative methods to develop a multidisciplinary approach to addressing heat stress and climate justice in low resource areas. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking with her dogs, reading science fiction novels and learning to throw pottery.