EPA and Ozone regulations.
Senate subcommittee hearing December 2014.
The Clean Air Act requires
EPA to review NAAQS standards (national ambient air quality standards) for ozone and for 5 other pollutants every 5
years to ensure they protect public health.
The current 75 parts per billion ozone
standard has been too high since the day it was finalized by the Bush
Administration back in 2008. That decision by the Bush Administration was so
out of line that the scientific advisory committee actually pushed back after
the fact, wrote a very unusual letter to Administrator Johnston telling him that
he had made a mistake and that the number could not be justified. Given the
priorities of that administration the scientific advice was not reckoned with
so that’s where the standard was set, and since then since then we have had
false comfort that the air we breathe everyday is safe. The revised standard is
a significant improvement; it is based on extensive scientific research, including
over a thousand studies published since the 2008 standard.
Industry claims that an ozone standard that protects health
will devastate businesses and the economy. When you look at history over and
over again those claims have been shown to be exaggerated and usually the contrary
is true. In terms of cost and benefits, the benefits of this rule in health and
other areas are three time the costs. EPA analysis show that Health benefits
translate into economic benefits, excluding California (which already complies),
would be 4 billion to 23 billion higher than the costs in 2025.
