You are not alone if your company is sitting on the proverbial “edge of its seat” waiting to find out if the county your business’ operations are based in is deemed a non-attainment area under the Clean Air Act’s 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground level ozone. Currently, more than 400 U.S. counties are awaiting designation and preparing for the fact that there could be a difficult road ahead if they are deemed out of compliance.
States are responsible for developing and submitting implementation plans that detail how non-attainment areas (counties) will reduce emissions to meet EPA standards. If a county’s status is pending, companies may choose to change or delay plans for building new facilities due to the uncertainty factor. Industry may hesitate, wondering what state requirements will be implemented that could affect the permits, regulations, and ultimately, the cost attributed to reconstruction or expansion projects.
The deadline for the 2015 NAAQS to go into effect has changed more than once in the past year – from October 2017 to October 2018 to April 2018 – leaving parties for and against the implementation of the revised standards unsettled. Many counties currently dubbed “non-attainment” according to 2008 NAAQS for ozone (75 parts per billion (ppb)) are lobbying for the ability to meet those standards before trying to achieve the 2015 NAAQS (70 ppb), while environmental groups and counties that are in compliance argue that stricter standards are needed to achieve health benefits for the general population.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established air quality standards for ozone in 1979. The standards were subsequently revised in 1997, 2008 and 2015. The most recent iteration (2015) tightened the NAAQS for ozone from 75 ppb to 70 ppb. The agency had two years to announce final determinations regarding area designations, which meant the revised standards would go into effect October 1, 2017. However, there is an allowance for a one-year extension, which was exercised by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, in October 2017 after stating that the agency lacked information. However, the EPA dropped the one-year extension after environmental organizations, public health organizations, and states sued.
Even though the EPA dropped the one-year extension, the agency was delayed in announcing the final determinations. In November 2017, the EPA released a list of 2,646 counties that meet the 2015 standards for ground level ozone or are not classifiable. A month later, another 420 counties were notified about their proposed classifications, and were given 120 days to provide additional information for the EPA to consider before making final designation decisions.
On March 1, the EPA issued final requirements that would apply to state, local, and tribal air agencies for implementing the 2015 NAAQS for ground-level ozone. Next up, the agency is required by order of Federal District Court Judge Haywood Stirling Gilliam Jr., to identify non-attainment areas by April 30, 2018. The wait may be coming to an end!
The team at EDGE has the expertise and experience needed to help you analyze your options and work through the uncertainty that accompanies an area’s non-attainment status. We are here to answer your questions, and to make recommendations so that your operations run smoothly, and your company moves in a forward direction.