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PA EPA CITES STATES THAT MAY NEED TO REDUCE AIR EMISSIONS TO PROTECT REGIONAL HEALTH-PROTECTION STANDARDS
Release Date: 04/18/97
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 1997
EPA CITES STATES THAT MAY NEED TO REDUCE AIR EMISSIONS TO
PROTECT REGIONAL HEALTH-PROTECTION STANDARDS
PROTECT REGIONAL HEALTH-PROTECTION STANDARDS
In an April 16, letter to Mary Gade, Chair of the Ozone Transport Assessment Group (OTAG), EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Mary D. Nichols provided a preliminary assessment, based on OTAG data, of which states may need to make additional reductions in air emissions to reduce regional transport of ground-level ozone. (Ground-level ozone forms when other pollutants--nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds--react with sunlight. Sources for these pollutants include motor vehicles, power plants, factories, chemical solvents and combustion products from various fuels. Ozone can impair people’s ability to breathe and cause shortness of breath, chest pain, wheezing and coughing.) OTAG, which is comprised of the 37 easternmost states and Wash., D.C., has been conducting a two-year study on the extent to which transport (drift) of ozone from certain OTAG states contributes to the violation or maintenance of the national ambient air quality standard in other OTAG states. (Ozone is one of six pollutants for which EPA has national standards--this issue relates only to ozone). The letter to Gade, a state official who is also Director of the Illinois State Environmental Protection Agency, cites EPA's preliminary view that the OTAG analysis demonstrates that the following states in the OTAG region may need to make additional emission reductions to address significant smog contributions to other states: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The letter also cites EPA's preliminary view that the OTAG analysis does not appear to support the need for additional reductions in Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas. The letter states that OTAG will complete its technical and policy work in June 1997, and EPA will use these findings as the basis for a rulemaking proposal this summer. EPA will carefully consider public comment before making its determinations on these issues, and throughout the process will continue to consult with all the involved states. For further technical information on this issue, contact Tom Helms of EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards at 919-541-5527.
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