Mitch Perry
According to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2015 report, more than 138.5 million people — nearly 44 percent of the country — live where pollution levels are often too dangerous to breathe.
Last fall the Environmental Protection Agency proposed tightening the 75-parts-per-billion smog standard set in 2008 to a standard between 65 and 70 parts per billion. The EPA held public hears across the country until March to record public comment.
Environmental organizations think that’s still too high, arguing for the standard to be reduced to 60 parts per billion.
“Leading medical societies have called for a 60-parts-per-billion standard — the most protective option EPA science advisers recommended — so EPA should follow the science and do its job to protect public health,” said David Baron, managing attorney at Earthjustice, in a January statement.
Not surprisingly, industry groups have pushed back. One report says that moving the ozone standards to 65 parts per billion would result in a massive economic hit to Florida.
An analysis performed by NERA Consulting for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) says the rule changes would result in more than a $25 billion gross state loss to Florida during the next 23 years, with 22,000 jobs lost per year, and a $250 annual reduction in average household consumption.
Ross Eisenberg, vice president of energy and resources policy at NAM says, “In states like Florida, we know that the proposed new standard will hamper economic progress, leaving communities throughout Central Florida and Tampa Bay hurting for years to come. This is why we are urging the EPA to stay the course and allow the 2008 standards to be fully implemented before tightening the standard once again.”
However, a Congressional Research Service report looked at NAM’s study and said they made a number of “simplifying assumptions,” such as looking only at the most stringent option under consideration (60 ppb) and did not account for some EPA regulations promulgated since 2010 that reduce nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions.
Ozone is a byproduct of pollutants that come from burning fossil fuels, such as utilities, car exhaust, gas vapors and chemical solvents. It’s known to cause respiratory illnesses and to harm some plants. The Clean Air Act compels the EPA to set the standard based solely on public health and welfare considerations, and it cannot consider the costs to implement the rules.
The EPA is expected to make a decision on the proposed new rules by October.
