DEPARTMENT: Metro Health/Office of Sustainability
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Dr. Colleen Bridger, Douglas R. Melnick, AICP, CNU-A
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
SUBJECT:
H.R. 806 Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017 (115th Congress (2017-2018)
SUMMARY:
Briefing of status of 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and consideration of H.R. 806 Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017 (115th Congress (2017-2018)
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
On October 2015, the EPA promulgated new ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), initiating the process to designate new nonattainment regions by October 2017. On June 6, 2017, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt notified state governor's that the deadline for promulgating ozone designations was delayed for one year, until October 2018, while the agency reviewed the standards and sought to provide greater flexibility to states. On August 2, 2017, EPA rescinded the extension, reinstating the October 2017 deadline to announce new nonattainment regions.
Congressional Action
On July 18, 2017, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 806, the Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017. Among other administrative changes, the bill would:
* Delay the implementation of the "health based" (2015) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone nonattainment designations until 2025;
* Modify the timeline for review of air quality standards from every five to every ten years;
* Allow the EPA Administrator to consider "technological and economic feasibility" in establishing or revising the NAAQS; and
* Require the EPA to conduct a study on the formation of atmospheric ozone and to submit a report to Congress describing the extent to which foreign sources of air pollution affect the ability of areas to comply with federal pollution standards under the Clean Air Act.
The bill passed the Congressional House on a vote of 229 to 199. The Bexar County delegation, with the exception of Congressmen ...
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