EPA recently announced it would pursue stricter federal standards for ground-level ozone. Today, the standard for compliance is 75 parts per billion (ppb). If EPA has its way, the new standard will be set between 65-70 ppb, but the agency has said it will consider and take comments on a standard as low as 60 ppb.
EPA will be taking comments on the proposed standard through March 17. While the Clean Air Act requires EPA to revisit the ozone standard every five years, a change is not mandated. And why would the EPA push the goal line further away when so many nonattainment areas have not yet met the current standard?
Meeting a new EPA ozone standard has broad implications for local communities and will impact economic development. At best, a new nonattainment designation for a community will result in costly planning and new burdensome regulatory requirements. Of greater concern, a new standard could stymie new investment opportunities and result in lost jobs and lost tax base.
There are currently 18 Texas counties in nonattainment that are above the 75 ppb standard. These counties have seen costly regulatory requirements that impact our everyday lives. Under a lower ozone standard of even 70 ppb, every major city in Texas would be in nonattainment. This classification would significantly limit new sources of emissions in the affected region.
Consider for a moment a new report that highlights the sheer absurdity of what EPA is proposing. An investigation by the American Action Forum found at least 100 national and state parks would not meet a lower EPA ozone standard. Death Valley National Park, Sequoia National Park and Cape Cod National Seashore have ozone readings between 71-87 ppb. Even an air monitor in the Wyoming portion of Yellowstone National Park yielded an ozone reading of 63 ppb. If carefully pre-served national parks with no industry and very few vehicles can’t meet EPA’s new ozone standard, what hope does a community have for any economic growth?
The EPA’s new ozone regulation could be the most expensive ever issued on the American public, costing the nation $270 billion-$360 billion annually. This regulation would not only impact the chemical industry but could also increase costs for households in Texas and result in 182,347 lost jobs, according to a new study by NERA Economic Consulting.
Cities, towns and rural areas across the U.S. would see reduced economic growth as unachievable permitting requirements prevent businesses from expanding or considering new operations. Local and state governments would have to impose costly new vehicle inspection programs that include an annual tailpipe emission test. Manufacturers would need to make technical and formula changes to their products and pay for replacement equipment.
These regulations could cost Texas hundreds of billions of dollars to reduce emissions to federally required levels. EPA has identified only 52 percent of the controls needed to meet the standard. The remaining 48 percent of reductions would have to be met with unknown controls EPA has not yet identified but which would likely have to include early shutdowns and scrapping of existing manufacturing facilities, equipment and vehicles.
Across Texas and our nation, air quality continues to improve. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are already down nearly 60 percent nationwide since 1980, which, after adjusting for economic growth, implies a 90-percent reduction in emission rates since 1990 for NOx-emitting sources. Meanwhile, the existing 2008 ozone standard has not been achieved by the state’s nonattainment areas. It’s as if the referees are moving the goal line in the middle of the football game. With all of the progress we’ve made and the recent economic recovery seen in Texas and across the U.S., now is not the time to move the regulatory target.
The danger Texas faces only under-scores what is becoming more and more clear: EPA is not only setting U.S. environmental policy but impacting American economic policy. By issuing standards that are impossible to meet and have no measurable impact to human health and air quality, EPA is overreaching and jeopardizing our nation’s economic recovery.
For more information, visit TCC or ACIT at www.txchemcouncil.org or www.acit.org, or call (512) 646-6400.
