Environmental Lawyer Blog

Testifying before a House subcommittee on Thursday, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson said her agency would move forward with enforcing the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards(NAAQS) for ground-level ozone, the main component of smog, which, thus far, has been held in abeyance as EPA worked to introduce a more stringent standard. Speaking to Congress for the first time since the White House requested withdrawal of the agency’s proposal to reduce the 8-hour “primary” ozone standard down to a range of 0.060 to 0.070 parts per million (ppm), Jackson indicated implementation of the 2008 standard of 0.075 ppm would be done “in a common sense way, minimizing the burden on state and local governments.” Continue reading →

Last week, the White House announced that it would ask the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw the proposed rule which would revise the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone, the main component in smog. The proposed rule would have strengthened the 8-hour “primary” ozone standard to a level within the range of 0.060-0.070 parts per million (ppm) (down from the 0.075 ppm standard established in 2008). It also would have established a cumulative, seasonal “secondary” standard within the range of 7-15 ppm-hours. EPA stated that the new rule would ensure that these standards are grounded in science, bringing them in line with the recommendation of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, EPA’s panel of science advisors.

The ozone standards are up for reconsideration under the Clean Air Act in 2013 and President Obama stated that he “did not support asking state and local governments to begin implementing a new standard that will soon be reconsidered.” The President confirmed that his decision to halt the rule is tied to the weakened economy, citing “the importance of reducing regulatory burdens and regulatory uncertainty, particularly as our economy continues to recover.”
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