Sep 2, 2015 5 min read

A move by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to tighten the federal ozone standard has drawn the ire of groups representing manufacturers and small business owners in the Keystone State.

According to officials who spoke during a teleconference Wednesday, the new regulation would, in particular, pose a major setback for the Pittsburgh region, which is on the cusp of attaining the current EPA ozone standards set in 2008.

According to information provided by the Center for Regulatory Solutions, the EPA proposal would move ozone attainment levels from the current 75 parts per billion to between 65 and 70 ppb.

According to CRS, a project of the national Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, the EPA forwarded its final draft of the proposal to the Office of Budget and Management Friday, giving federal agencies just 30 days to review it and for President Obama to sign it.

According to the EPA, ground-level or “bad” ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds in the presence of sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of NOx and VOC. Breathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems, particularly for children, the elderly and people of all ages who have lung diseases such as asthma.

CRS said the new regulation would put 33 Pennsylvania counties, many of which have large industrial and population centers, out of compliance. It said those counties represent 85 percent of the state’s gross domestic product, 83 percent of the state’s workforce and 81 percent of the state’s population.

David Taylor, president of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association, said the state’s manufacturing sector would be negatively affected by the tighter regulation, which he described as “outrageously unreasonable. It’s completely untenable.” He estimated the new rule would cost manufacturers and other businesses $140 billion per year.

Taylor and Congressman Mike Kelly, R-3rd District, said the agency is asking the state to comply with the new rule with technology that does not yet exist.

Under the Clean Air Act, cities and counties that do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone are placed into “non-attainment” for violation of federal environmental standards. Once in non-attainment, state officials are required to develop an “implementation plan” that imposes new restrictions across the economy, especially in the transportation, construction and energy industries.

Taylor and Kelly noted the EPA has veto power over these implementation plans. States that refuse to comply, or have their implementation plans rejected, face regulatory and financial sanctions imposed on them directly from the federal government.

“Costs for construction will skyrocket,” Kelly said. “We’ll see delays if not outright cancellation of projects.”

CRS said the move to tighter ozone regulations comes at a time when Pennsylvania employers, workers and public officials have been optimistic that economic conditions are in place for a resurgence in manufacturing, led by cheap energy prices and the growth of natural gas production from the Marcellus Shale.

“Yet, Pennsylvanians remain anxious about the state of their local economy, the direction of their state and how it could be impacted by policies coming out of Washington, D.C.,” CRS said in its report. It cited a survey it conducted in which 34 percent of Pennsylvania residents rated their local economy as “excellent” or “good,” while 26 percent said the economy is “getting better.”

CRS provided written comments on the proposal from leaders from around the state, who expressed their opposition and frustration with the new proposal, coming at a time when the state is about to reach full compliance with the current federal ozone standard.

“Overall air quality in the Pittsburgh region, as well as in the entire nation, is improving,” stated Dennis Yablonsky, chief executive of the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce in a letter to the EPA. “The Pittsburgh region, with a strong legacy of being the nation’s manufacturing leader and as an energy provider for the nation, would be at risk of losing its current economic momentum and would be hindered in its ability to take advantage of shale gas development and new advanced manufacturing opportunities.”

Kelly and others noted since 1980, ozone levels nationally have been reduced by 30 percent, with Erie reducing its level by 41 percent and Pittsburgh by 38 percent during that time.

“Washington County and the Greater Pittsburgh Region have made great strides to transform our area from the ‘Smoky City’ to a region with a high quality of life that embraces economic growth through responsible development, which begins with clean air,” wrote Washington County Chamber of Commerce President Jeff Kotula. “However, the new ozone regulations and even stricter standards being proposed by the EPA will hinder that growth by again imposing impossible policies whose only results will be slowing the economy and burdening our small businesses. We all are for clean air, but we are also for a level playing field with common-sense rules that create jobs and economic opportunity.”

State Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, said the “ever-changing and disputed EPA standards represent a dagger pointed to the heart not only of Southwestern Pennsylvania but the entire state.”