Business advocates around the country are raising warning flags about an upcoming regulation from the Environmental Protection Agency that could set a new, lower standard for ground-level ozone. The EPA is due to issue the final rule by Oct. 1 and has proposed dropping the current standard from 0.75 parts per billion (ppb) to between 65 and 70 ppb.
In op-ed columns, critics have pointed out that much of the country cannot meet even the current standards, which suggests lower standards could simply be unattainable. Of course, the impact on local economies and employment is a serious concern for the writers.
A round-up:
NJ.com, "EPA's plan to clean air is well-meaning but will suffocate N.J. economy" by Anthony Russo of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, and Michael Sylvester, Economic Development Association of New Jersey.
In 2008, the EPA issued new regulations to further reduce levels of ground-level ozone, limiting atmospheric concentrations to 75 parts per billion. These standards are so rigorous that only four of New Jersey's 21 counties currently pass muster. But rather than help ensure the Garden State can meet existing requirements, the federal agency wants to tighten ozone standards even further.
The EPA's new proposal would reduce the acceptable levels of ozone to between 65 and 70 ppb. Cumberland County – one of the state's least populated regions – is the only place in New Jersey that would pass under a standard of 70 ppb. Under a standard of 65 ppb, the entire state would be noncompliant.
The EPA knows how difficult it will be for New Jersey – and the nation – to reach its new ozone-reduction proposal. Even the EPA itself admits that it doesn't know how towns and state governments will go about meeting it.
[The] EPA's new plan to slash the ground-level ozone threshold to 65-70 ppb is too much too soon. It's hard to overstate the economic consequences of the proposal.Of the 100 counties in North Carolina, just seven violate today's standard. But if the threshold is lowered to 70 ppb, 20 counties will be noncompliant. If the threshold is lowered to 65 ppb, a whopping 77 counties will be noncompliant.Local officials will find it difficult – if not impossible – to green light infrastructure and factory expansions. Permits will become much harder for everyone to receive.
The EPA’s new rules will yield little improvement in air quality, while imposing heavy costs on our economy — particularly our lifeblood manufacturing sector. The EPA’s regulators should reconsider this plan.For starters, it’s debatable whether the new rules are necessary. As a result of air quality efforts we’ve already made, the U.S. has seen drastic decreases in ozone emissions. Over the last 30 years, ozone concentrations declined 33 percent. All evidence suggests this progress will continue.
Industrial investment would undoubtedly dry up. Indeed, many multinational firms based in the United States started relocating their manufacturing operations because of the 2008 standard, a Harvard study found, increasing their overall foreign production by 9 percent.That's bad news for Hampton Roads, a section of Virginia well known for its low business costs and qualified workforce. The region's manufacturing sector employs 50,000 Virginians - nearly 8 percent of the area's total employment. Since the Great Recession, unemployment has steadily dropped from 7.6 percent to 5.7 percent.But these economic gains could be undone if the EPA gets its way. Under the new ozone standard, much of the area would be considered noncompliant - discouraging new business investment and forcing companies to cut back on employees.
Business Roundtable President John Engler, a former Michigan legislator and three-term governor, also weighed in on the issue in Governing magazine, widely read by state and local officials. From "How EPA’s Ozone Proposal Threatens Jobs and Growth":
The good news is that, according to the EPA, ozone levels have dropped by 33 percent since 1980. Businesses, governments and individuals all have played key roles in this success. Market-driven innovations and policies to improve fuel economy, increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions from stationary and mobile sources have delivered real results.The EPA's new ozone standard has the potential to turn this success story into an economic tragedy. If it moves forward with lowering the standard, the EPA will essentially be requiring many states and local communities to reduce ground-level ozone to a level that is either unattainable or technologically infeasible given existing emissions-control technologies. Moreover, the new rule, which the EPA could finalize as early as this September, is expected to be among the most expensive regulations in U.S. history.