On October 1, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final rule to update the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone by strengthening primary and secondary ozone standards, changing monitoring requirements, and updating the Air Quality Index (AQI) to inform the public of unhealthy air. The controversial rule updates the eight-hour primary and secondary ozone standards to 70 parts per billion (ppb) from the 2008 revision of 75 ppb. According to EPA, the annual costs will be $1.4 billion compared to the public health benefits estimated at $2.9 to $5.9 billion annually, but the rule will have disproportionate impact to oil and gas industries, and to those states and regions with nonattainment areas.
EPA will designate areas in late 2017, likely based on data from 2014-2016. Based on the intensity of their ozone problem, areas would have until between 2020 and 2037 to meet the standards. Existing regulations and programs, such as power plant emissions regulations, the Cross State Air Pollution Rule and Mercury Air Toxic Standards, stationary sources emissions standards, and Tier 3 vehicle emissions and fuels standards should help states meet the updated standards.
States with nonattainment areas must develop emission inventories, implement a preconstruction permitting program to provide additional air quality safeguards for those areas, and develop state implementation plans (SIPs) for nonattainment areas classified as moderate or higher. These states must also adopt reasonably available control technology (RACT) standards for certain types of emission sources. However, areas that do not meet the standard may not receive a nonattainment designation if their air quality improves notably in the subsequent year, and the EPA is expected to designate areas in late 2017 based on data from 2014 to 2016.
Originally published by EnerKnol.
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