Proposed Ozone Standard Rule Published & Public Hearings Announced
Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. - Texas Environmental Update, July 2007
EPA’s proposed rule to revise the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (“NAAQS”) for ozone and its announcement of public hearings on that proposed rule were published in the July 11, 2007 Federal Register (72 Fed. Reg. 37818 and 72 Fed. Reg. 37682, respectively). EPA developed and previously announced the proposal pursuant to a consent decree which required that EPA propose a revised ozone standard by June 20, 2007. Rather than proposing specific NAAQS levels for the primary ozone standard (designed to protect human health) and the secondary ozone standard (designed to protect public welfare, including vegetation and crops), EPA has issued recommended ranges and options regarding which EPA requests public comment.
Specifically, EPA is proposing to lower the primary ozone NAAQS from its current level of 0.08 parts per million (“ppm”) to between 0.070 and 0.075 ppm. EPA has also proposed and has invited comment on two alternatives for revising the secondary ozone NAAQS. One option is to replace the current 8-hour standard with a cumulative, seasonal standard expressed as an index of the annual sum of weighted hourly concentrations, cumulated over the 12-hour daylight period during three months of the ozone season (June, July and August) with the maximum index value set at a level within the range of 7 to 21 ppm-hours. The other proposed option is to continue to set the secondary standard at a level identical to the primary standard.
The deadline for filing written comments on the proposed rule is October 9, 2007. Public hearings regarding the proposal will be held Los Angeles and Philadelphia on August 30, 2007, and in Atlanta, Chicago and Houston on September 5, 2007. Each hearing will be held from 9:00am to 9:00pm. The Houston public hearing will be held at the Houston Marriott West Loop by the Galleria, 1750 West Loop South, Houston, Texas 77027.
The above-referenced Federal Register publications and additional information regarding the proposed rule and opportunities for public comment are available on EPA’s website.1
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