EPA proposes new limits to ozone air pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency announced a broad, new standard on air pollution Wednesday that limits the levels of ground-level ozone, or smog, in the atmosphere.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said the new standards were developed in consultation with a fleet of scientists, represent a legal extension of the Clean Air Act and will provide safer air quality for people and the environment. The new proposal would limit smog from 65 to 70 parts per billion, a reduction from the 75 parts per billion that were established in 2008 by President George W. Bush.

"Today marks another step forward in the EPA's long history of protecting Americans' health and the climate," she said. "The science clearly tells us that ozone poses a real threat to our health, especially for growing children and older Americans. We're looking forward to hearing what the public thinks about the proposal."

Leaders of the new Republican-led Congress that will take over in January have already said they oppose the new regulations.

Some have accused President Obama of abusing his executive authority in several ways through the EPA. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will take over as majority leader in the Senate in January, says the misguided moves have cost thousands of jobs in his home state and cripples economic progress in others.

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House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Wednesday promised swift action by the new Congress to derail the president's proposals.

"Americans have made clear to the president that his priorities are not theirs, and this is precisely the kind of misguided policy they rejected earlier this month," Boehner said, referring to Republican gains in the midterm elections earlier this month. "The new American Congress will continue listening to the American people, and take action to protect middle-class families, and our economy, from the Obama administration's regulatory onslaught.

The EPA announcement starts a yearlong process, and an expected yearlong debate, to implement the new rules. The agency will accept public comment on the proposed rules for 90 days following their publication in the Federal Register and hold three public hearings next year. That will set the stage for the new rules to go into effect Oct. 15, 2015.

McCarthy said their proposal is grounded in science, with her agency reviewing more than 1,000 studies published since standards were last updated in 2008. She said it's grounded in the law and said she was "confident" that the rules would survive court challenges that are before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The rules also address the need to help those who suffer from intense air pollution, McCarthy said. EPA estimates that strengthening the standards to just 70 parts per billion will prevent 750 premature deaths, 1,400 asthma-related emergency room visits, 65,000 missed work days and 330,000 missed school days.

Those statistics will improve as the standards set lower levels for ozone, she said, adding that the EPA will consider dropping the levels to 60 parts per billion.

"While there's more uncertainty with the science at that level, I'm very mindful of that fact that my science advisers have said it should be on the table," she said.

Depending on the severity of the air quality, areas would have to comply with the new regulations sometime between 2020 and 2037. The new plan also includes an expansion of ozone monitoring in 33 at-risk states.

The new rules drew praise from some Democrats in Congress.

"EPA's new proposed standard would save lives and protect children and families from dangerous air pollution," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "If you can't breathe you can't work, so clean air is essential for a strong economy."

But Republicans promised a fight.

"I refuse to let the people of Oklahoma, and America more broadly, fall victim to EPA's over-regulation and extreme environmentalist agenda," said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who will chair the Environment and Public Works Committee starting in January. "As Senate committees return to regular order in the new Congress, this rule will face rigorous oversight so we can gain a better understanding of the health and economic impacts of the proposed standard, and we will solicit the thoughtful input of state and local leaders across the country."