Wed Nov 26, 2014 9:34pm IST
(Updates with EPA announcement, reaction from groups)
By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON Nov 26 (Reuters) - The Obama administration onWednesday proposed stricter curbs on ground-level ozone, apollutant linked to several serious health conditions, in a moveindustry groups said would place a heavy burden on the U.S.economy.
The Environmental Protection Agency said it would setNational Ambient Air Quality Standard between 65 and 70 partsper billion concentration of ozone and consider public commentson standards within a 60 to 75 ppb range.
The EPA must finalize the rule by October. It will replacethe current standard of 75 ppb set in 2008.
The lower limit would mean less smoke from power plants andcar exhaust pipes, leading to slightly cleaner air and reducedsmog.
"Bringing ozone pollution standards in line with the latestscience will clean up our air, improve access to crucial airquality information, and protect those most at-risk," said EPAAdministrator Gina McCarthy. "It empowers the American peoplewith updated air quality information to protect our loved ones."
The proposal will apply cars and power plants as well as oiland gas facilities. Health advocates and environmentalistshailed the plan as a way to cut down on asthma, heart diseaseand other respiratory illnesses.
The tougher standards would be closer to a proposal draftedin 2011 but unexpectedly withdrawn by President Barack Obamabefore its release because of cost concerns while the nation wasrecovering from a recession.
Obama then directed the EPA to craft a new proposal. When itfailed to act, groups including the American Lung Association,the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund sued for acourt-ordered deadline.
"EPA's proposal to strengthen the standard is a vital stepforward in the fight to protect all Americans from the dangersof breathing ozone pollution," said American Lung AssociationPresident Harold Wimmer.
Industry groups had braced for a standard as low as 60 ppband estimated a price tag of $270 billion a year at that level,according to the National Association of Manufacturers.
"This new standard comes at the same time dozens of othernew EPA regulations are being imposed that collectively placeincreased costs, burdens and delays on manufacturers, threatenour international competitiveness and make it nearly impossibleto grow jobs," said the association's president, Jay Timmons.
Howard Feldman, regulatory affairs director at the AmericanPetroleum Institute, said U.S. air quality was improving withoutregulatory change and that meeting the new standards would beextremely difficult.
But McCarthy said the economic cost of inaction was greatbecause of health problems that cause people to miss work orschool.
"If the standards are finalized, every dollar we invest tomeet them will return up to three dollars in health benefits,"McCarthy said. That could add up to $38 billion to the U.S.economy by 2025 if the emissions rate is set at 65 ppb, whilecompliance costs would be $15 billion, she added.
"Healthy communities attract new businesses, new investment,and new jobs," McCarthy wrote in an editorial published on CNN'swebsite.
In making the rule, EPA scientists reviewed more than 1,000studies published since the last standards were set.
Terry McGuire, the Sierra Club's Washington representativeon smog pollution, said Obama, who is not up for re-election,was now freer to act aggressively and should push the limit downas far as 60 ppb.
"This should be a centerpiece of his environmental legacy,"McGuire said.
Under the proposal, U.S. states would have from 2020 to 2037to implement the new standards, based on their current pollutionlevels. The EPA also cited flexibility to allow for "unique"situations, such as in California, a massive state with a variedenvironment. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Susan Heavey; Editing byRos Krasny, Peter Cooney and Lisa Von Ahn)
(Updates with EPA announcement, reaction from groups)
By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON Nov 26 (Reuters) - The Obama administration onWednesday proposed stricter curbs on ground-level ozone, apollutant linked to several serious health conditions, in a moveindustry groups said would place a heavy burden on the U.S.economy.
The Environmental Protection Agency said it would setNational Ambient Air Quality Standard between 65 and 70 partsper billion concentration of ozone and consider public commentson standards within a 60 to 75 ppb range.
The EPA must finalize the rule by October. It will replacethe current standard of 75 ppb set in 2008.
The lower limit would mean less smoke from power plants andcar exhaust pipes, leading to slightly cleaner air and reducedsmog.
"Bringing ozone pollution standards in line with the latestscience will clean up our air, improve access to crucial airquality information, and protect those most at-risk," said EPAAdministrator Gina McCarthy. "It empowers the American peoplewith updated air quality information to protect our loved ones."
The proposal will apply cars and power plants as well as oiland gas facilities. Health advocates and environmentalistshailed the plan as a way to cut down on asthma, heart diseaseand other respiratory illnesses.
The tougher standards would be closer to a proposal draftedin 2011 but unexpectedly withdrawn by President Barack Obamabefore its release because of cost concerns while the nation wasrecovering from a recession.
Obama then directed the EPA to craft a new proposal. When itfailed to act, groups including the American Lung Association,the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund sued for acourt-ordered deadline.
"EPA's proposal to strengthen the standard is a vital stepforward in the fight to protect all Americans from the dangersof breathing ozone pollution," said American Lung AssociationPresident Harold Wimmer.
Industry groups had braced for a standard as low as 60 ppband estimated a price tag of $270 billion a year at that level,according to the National Association of Manufacturers.
"This new standard comes at the same time dozens of othernew EPA regulations are being imposed that collectively placeincreased costs, burdens and delays on manufacturers, threatenour international competitiveness and make it nearly impossibleto grow jobs," said the association's president, Jay Timmons.
Howard Feldman, regulatory affairs director at the AmericanPetroleum Institute, said U.S. air quality was improving withoutregulatory change and that meeting the new standards would beextremely difficult.
But McCarthy said the economic cost of inaction was greatbecause of health problems that cause people to miss work orschool.
"If the standards are finalized, every dollar we invest tomeet them will return up to three dollars in health benefits,"McCarthy said. That could add up to $38 billion to the U.S.economy by 2025 if the emissions rate is set at 65 ppb, whilecompliance costs would be $15 billion, she added.
"Healthy communities attract new businesses, new investment,and new jobs," McCarthy wrote in an editorial published on CNN'swebsite.
In making the rule, EPA scientists reviewed more than 1,000studies published since the last standards were set.
Terry McGuire, the Sierra Club's Washington representativeon smog pollution, said Obama, who is not up for re-election,was now freer to act aggressively and should push the limit downas far as 60 ppb.
"This should be a centerpiece of his environmental legacy,"McGuire said.
Under the proposal, U.S. states would have from 2020 to 2037to implement the new standards, based on their current pollutionlevels. The EPA also cited flexibility to allow for "unique"situations, such as in California, a massive state with a variedenvironment. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Susan Heavey; Editing byRos Krasny, Peter Cooney and Lisa Von Ahn)
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