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EPA Will Not Revisit Obama-Era NAAQS for Ozone

August 2, 2018

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not intend to revisit national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone that the Obama administration issued in 2015, a court filing shows.

The agency said in its final status report submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on August 1 that it has reviewed the 2015 rule governing state-implementation of primary and secondary NAAQS for ozone—also known as smog—from mobile or stationary sources, but “determined that at this time, EPA does not intend to revisit the 2015 Rule.”

The 2015 ozone rule tightened limits of ozone from 0.075 parts per million (ppm) of ozone averaged over eight hours, as set by the Bush administration in March 2008, to 0.070 ppm. The rule, which followed a proposal to revise standards to a range of 0.065 ppm to 0.070 ppm, drew ire from both industry and environmental groups. It was challenged in federal court.

According to an “Air Trend” data set that the Environmental Protection Agency released this week, average ozone levels have been declining steadily since 1980. Source: EPA

According to an “Air Trend” data set that the Environmental Protection Agency released this week, average ozone levels have declined 32% since 1980 and 22% since 1990.

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Eight States Sue EPA, Arguing Ozone Transport Region Decision Is “Unlawful”

December 29, 2017

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Eight northeastern states are again suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force the agency to slash emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) blowing in from power plants and other sources in nine “upwind” Midwestern and southern states.

The Ozone Transport Region, which was established by Congress under Section 184 of the Clean Air Act, currently includes 11 “downwind” states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Most of these states have rules or fall under a federal mandate to directly or indirectly require sources achieve reductions of NO_x and VOCs, which contribute to the formation of ozone. In 2014—the most recent year for which the National Emissions Inventory (NEI) is available—about 56% of NO_x emissions in the U.S. came from on-road and non-road mobile sources. Electric generating units accounted for about 13% of NO_x emissions nationwide. The bulk of VOCs emitted were from industrial processes, including solvents (48%) and mobile sources (27%).…

EPA Extends Deadline for 2015 Ozone NAAQS Area Designations

June 9, 2017

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is giving states an extra year to develop air quality plans related to the 2015-National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone.

In a June 6 letter sent to U.S. governors, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the extended deadline for promulgating initial area designations for the rule issued by the Obama administration in October 2015 would give the agency more time to assess available information and complete its review of the rule.

When it promulgated the rule, which slashed the current limit of 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb, former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said the decision was based on well-founded concerns for public health. States have begun submitting proposals for area designations under the new standard.

The Trump administration’s review of the rule is more focused on how it will affect businesses. According to the EPA, areas designated as being in “nonattainment” of the standard face consequences, including: “increased regulatory burdens, restrictions on infrastructure investment, and increased costs to businesses.”…