The API has said that the administration should keep the current ozone standards of 75 ppb, which are not only the strictest standards ever imposed; they have yet to be fully implemented. Howard Feldman, API Senior Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs has said, “the facts are clear: the current standards protect our environment. Peer reviewed science confirms that the current standards are protecting public health. The nation’s air is getting cleaner, and air quality will continue to improve as we implement the existing standards.”
Ground level ozone in the US declined 18% between 2000 and 2013, according to EPA data. At a standard of 65 ppb, 45 out of the lower 48 states would have areas that could be out of compliance the API has said. At a standard of 60 ppb, 46 out of the lower 48 states could have areas out of compliance. Lowering the standard to 60 ppb, which the EPA is taking comment on, could cost the US economy US$270 billion /y and place millions of jobs at risk, according to a report by NERA Economic Consulting.
Feldman also said, “we question the wisdom and the motivation behind burdening out nation’s still recovering economy and the American consumer with more, costly regulations before the current regulations have been given time to work. This rule could be the costliest regulation ever imposed on the American public. A lower standard could, for little or no health benefit, significantly constraint our nation’s economy and eliminate thousands of jobs.”
Edited from press release by Claira Lloyd