EPA wants to toughen the ozone limit adopted in 2008 by cracking down further on vehicles, power plants, factories and landfills. Much of the U.S. could then be in violation of federal regulations.
The EPA proposed allowing a ground-level ozone concentration of between 60 and 70 parts per billion, down from the 75-ppb standard adopted under President George W. Bush in 2008.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said the agency was "stepping up to protect Americans from one of the most persistent and widespread pollutants we face. . . . Using the best science to strengthen these standards is a long-overdue action that will help millions of Americans breathe easier and live healthier."
The EPA's new standard could force the state to crack down further on vehicle pollution, on refineries and power plants, and even on volatile organic compounds coming from consumer products such as hair spray. Air districts also would be likely to increase efforts to control sprawl and force more concentrated land development. Statewide, the number of car trips has been growing faster than the population.
CALIFORNIA AIR POLLUTION IMPACT
Besides ratcheting up pressure on highly polluted parts of Southern California and the Central Valley, the revised standard would require several new areas to take measures to slash air pollution, including parts of the northern Sacramento Valley and the Central Coast that have been in compliance under the previous standards.
Unlike Eastern and Midwestern states, where much of the pollution comes from coal-fired power plants, three-quarters of California's ozone-forming emissions are from mobile sources such as cars, trucks, trains, ships, planes and construction equipment.
In the last three years, the state has adopted the nation's strictest rules to control pollution from diesel engines in trucks and construction equipment, which emit nitrogen oxides, a precursor to smog.
PROTECT OUR HEALTH
Though complying with the standards could cost up to $90 billion nationwide, according to the EPA, it could also save $100 billion in health costs over time.
A 65-ppb standard -- the middle of the proposed acceptable range -- would avert 1,700 to 5,100 premature deaths nationwide in 2020 compared with the 75-ppb standard, the EPA estimates. The agency projects the stricter standard would also prevent an additional 26,000 cases of aggravated asthma compared with the Bush-era standard, and more than a million cases of missed work or school.
PROTECT FORESTS and SENSITIVE ECOSYSTEMS
The EPA also proposed setting a "secondary standard" to protect plants and trees from repeated smog exposure during growing season, a move environmentalists said would help national parks, forests and sensitive ecosystems. Trees and other vegetation absorb heat-trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, making them an important check against global warming.
Environmentalists praised the agency for proposing regulations that match the unanimous recommendations of an EPA science advisory committee.