The House of Representatives approved legislation on Wednesday that would extend the implementation schedule for the EPA’s 2015 ozone standard to 2025.
The EPA has the authority to regulate ground-level ozone under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) program. The agency established ozone standards in 1971 and revised them in 1979, 1997 and 2008 — but standards for 2008 were not issued until 2015, and those standards have since been revised.
Under the Ozone Standards Implementation Act, H.R. 4775, the revised 2015 standards would not be implemented until 2025 to give states time to first meet the initial 2008 standard.
U.S. Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX), the author of the bill, said that the measure was not about fundamentally changing the Clean Air Act and that it would not change any air quality standard or regulation.
“This bipartisan bill is about carefully thought out, common sense reforms,” Olson said. “It is about listening to state regulators, who actually have to make EPA’s rules work.”
U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) added that the EPA has been “delinquent” in providing guidance to states to help them comply with ozone standards.
“These rules take years of planning to successfully implement while limiting adverse impacts on industry,” Boustany said. “We must continue to fight regulations that will make it harder to obtain necessary permits to manufacture goods and build roads and highways while increasing the cost of energy for every business and household in Louisiana. Today’s legislation will force accountability and timely issuance of guidance while ensuring states have the necessary time to comply with the revised standard.”
The bill would also change the mandatory review of NAAQS from five years to 10 years and would require the EPA to consider the technical feasibility and timeliness of implementation guidelines.
U.S. Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN) said that regulations established by the EPA should strike a balance between protecting the environment and protecting jobs and affordable energy.
“The path forward should be achieved through private sector innovation and technological advancements, not one-sized fits all government mandates that only serve to stymie development,” Bucshon said. “That’s why it is so important the House passed legislation today to provide states, like Indiana, the flexibility and time needed to implement new ozone standards on an efficient and realistic timeline and address other practical implementation challenges they face. This legislation will help protect our state’s coal mining and manufacturing jobs.”
U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power, said that the bill charts a “sensible path forward” in improving air quality without adversely impacting economic growth.
“The end result of this bill would be a more workable Clean Air Act, one that will continue to bring about improvements in air quality while avoiding unnecessary burdens on state governments and job creators,” Whitfield said.
U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) both applauded House passage of the bill.
“EPA’s current approach to setting new ozone standards is a moving target, making it difficult for states to comply,” Capito said. “I am glad that the House passed this commonsense legislation that will create a more certain regulatory environment and protect jobs. Today’s vote is a step in the right direction, and I look forward to a legislative hearing in the Senate soon.”
Flake said that “victory in the House” meant that the Senate was positioned to “reign in” the EPA’s overreaching regulations.
“Hopefully it’s not long before this bill aimed at protecting jobs, eliminating unnecessary economic burdens, and restoring regulatory certainty finds its way to the president’s desk,” Flake said.