The federal government?s ozone standards aren?t strict enough to protect the public?s health, said Maryland officials who are suing over the regulations.
Maryland has joined 13 states, the District of Columbia and New York City to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over “watered-down standards” set in March for regulating ground-level air pollution, or smog.
“The tougher standards we would like to see would provide better protection of public health and reduce things like asthma incidents and emergency room visits and many respiratory problems,” said Tad Aburn, director of the Air and Radiation Management Administration at the Maryland Department of the Environment.
The MDE and the Office of the Maryland Attorney General announced this week they had joined the lawsuit.
The EPA set the ozone standard at 0.075 parts per million, which is lower than the 0.08 standard set in 1997.
However, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson rejected the advice of the independent review panel, EPA?s Clean Air Science Advisory Committee, which recommended the standard be set between 0.06 ppm and 0.07 ppm.
“We are disappointed the EPA didn?t follow the guidance of the health experts,” Aburn said, adding that stricter standards would require more programs aimed at reducing toxic emissions.
The EPA?s smog standards define the upper limits of smog concentration that can be present before causing public health harm and damaging plants and animals.
Five environmental groups ? the American Lung Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, National Parks Conservation Association, and Appalachian Mountain Club ? also have filed a separate, similar lawsuit against the EPA.
“The consequence of that is thousands, millions of Americans will be at greater risk of asthma attacks and premature death than they would be with a stronger standard,” said David Baron, an attorney for Earthjustice, a public interest firm representing the organizations.
EPA spokesman Tim Lyons defended the standard, saying it is stronger than the previous standard.
“The fact is the Clean Air Act was followed and now has the most health-protective eight-hour standard for ozone ever,” he said.
Other states in the lawsuit are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
