House passes bill delaying Obama’s smog regulations

The House voted 234-177 to pass the Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2016. The author of the bill, Rep. Pete Olson, R-Texas, said the legislation gives relief to states and counties that have been caught in a double-dip of federal ozone regulations.

Twenty-four counties are still not in compliance with the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards handed down by the EPA. Olson blamed that non-compliance on the EPA not giving the local governments guidance on how to meet those standards until 2015.

In October, the EPA announced a stricter ozone standards, dropping the allowable amount of ozone to 70 parts per billion from 75 parts per billion. The communities that were still working on the 2008 standard now have two different regulations to work with on the same pollutant. Olson said his bill would keep that from happening again.

“What’s wrong with the EPA putting out a complete package of rules and regulations together instead of rule first and regulations seven years later?” he said. “That’s not common sense. That’s a road to failure, a road we’re going down right now.”

Ozone is the primary component of smog and can cause respiratory illnesses in children and the elderly, such as making the symptoms of asthma worse.

The bill now moves to the Senate, where it will come up against heavy Democratic opposition. The White House issued a statement on Tuesday saying that Obama would likely veto the bill if it were to pass the upper chamber and go to his desk.

While seven Democrats voted for the bill, many members of the minority party slammed the legislation as an attempt to gut the Clean Air Act.

Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said the provisions in the bill allowing the EPA to revisit the ozone regulations every 10 years instead of every five years would endanger public health.

“The proposed change to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards will put lives at risk by permanently delaying updates to limits on not just ozone but on every dangerous air pollutant,” he said.

Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., said the bill doesn’t take action to help local governments implement EPA regulations or help businesses improve air quality, steps that he said could make a real impact on smog levels in the United States.

Instead, it is an attack on one of the most important pieces of environmental regulation ever passed, he said.

“Consideration of this bill is a waste of time,” Tonko said. “No wonder people across the country are frustrated with Washington.”

Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., rejected the idea that the bill is an attack on the Clean Air Act.

He said clean air is a top priority of House Republicans and so is listening to their constituents back in their districts. Many lawmakers have heard complaints from state officials about the way the EPA announced the ozone regulations and what it could mean for their areas, Whitfield said.

Among those complaints is that natural wilderness areas, such as national parks around the country, would not be in compliance with the new ozone standards. It’s virtually impossible to lower ozone amounts in those areas because there is little industry to regulate.

For other, more populated areas, the regulations could end up causing major harm to regional economies, Whitfield said.

“If you’re in non-compliance, it has a drastic impact on your ability to create jobs and bring in new industry because it’s much more difficult to get permitted,” he said.

The bill also would ask the EPA to study if ozone measured in the United States is coming from other countries, if technology is available to help meet the new standards, and to get input on whether stricter standards could harm local economies. Whitfield said these studies are common-sense protections for local areas.

Democrats criticized Whitfield for passing an amendment that meant no new funds could come to the EPA to conduct these studies, but he said they are simply part of the EPA doing its job.

“Is that unreasonable? Is that trying to gut the Clean Air Act?” he asked.