Ozone cuts aren't deep enough, some argue

Others worry they may hurt Colorado industry

Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 22, 2007 at midnight

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The EPA's proposed toughening of the nation's air pollution standard for ozone would improve public health but create difficulties for industry in the Denver region, which has struggled to stay within the existing standard for the pollutant.

The proposal is based on new scientific findings that show current limits aren't protective enough, both for people with existing respiratory ills and for healthy adults exercising outdoors on high pollution days.

The EPA's proposal recommends ratcheting down the current limit of 80 parts per billion over an eight-hour period to 70 to 75 parts per billion, which - if in effect today - would put the metro area in violation of the health standard.

A slew of new pollution-control measures could be in the offing for the region, ranging from costlier, cleaner-burning gasoline to new limits on emissions from oil and gas operations.

More public education campaigns to limit even everyday activities, such as lawn mowing and backyard grilling - both contributors to ozone - might be considered.

"Advances in science are leading to cleaner skies and healthier lives," EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson said in a prepared statement. "By strengthening the ozone standard, EPA is keeping our clean air momentum moving into the future."

But in a parallel move that has some environmentalists wondering if the EPA is actually planning to maintain the current standard, the agency said Thursday that it would continue to take public comment on leaving the 80 parts per billion limit in place.

"Since EPA is expected to explicitly leave the door open to inaction, the jury is still out until EPA issues its final decision on March 12, 2008," said Vickie Patton, a senior attorney with Environmental Defense, based in the metro area.

Earlier this year, when EPA's science advisers proposed tightening the standard, some industry officials said Denver would have a difficult time complying. Greg Schnacke, an oil and gas lobbyist, said it would take the region back to square one in figuring out how to keep emissions down.

Already, Colorado regulators have passed stringent controls on the oil and gas industry in the region northeast of Denver, to cut back on ozone-forming emissions that drift back toward the metro area.

Now, if EPA adopts the tougher standard, it's likely that regulators will need to look at a wide variety of further pollution controls on power plants, cars and other sources of the compounds that form ozone when they bake in the hot sun.

Even now, under the 80 ppb rule, Denver is on the threshold of violating the health standard. Experts predict that the region is likely to formally violate the standard - based on a three-year rolling average - this summer. That would prompt more federal scrutiny of highway expansions and new industry.

The news is good for public health, however, argue activists, who point to studies in recent years that show current standards aren't protective of people who struggle on high-ozone days, such as those with asthma or other respiratory ailments.

Even healthy people who exercise outside can suffer lung irritation and breathing difficulties on high pollution days, the studies have found.

One environmental group in Denver, Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action, said that the proposed standard wasn't strong enough, pointing to evidence that a 60 ppb limit is more protective of public health.

"The EPA is not just turning its back on science, it's turning its back on 89,000 kids gasping for air," said Jeremy Nichols, director of Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action.

Snuffing out smog

The EPA proposed tougher limits Thursday on ground-level ozone, a pollutant formed when chemical compounds from power plants, cars, refineries, gas stations and other sources bake in hot sunlight.

• What did the EPA do? The agency proposed lowering the current standard of 84 parts per billion of ozone over an eight-hour period to 70 to 75 ppb. But it also is allowing public comment on leaving the current standard in place.

• Does Denver comply? The metro area is on the cusp of violating the existing EPA health standard, based on ozone levels averaged over a three-year period. Already this year, air monitors in the Denver region have recorded ozone levels at 70 ppb or higher 42 times, meaning it likely would fail to meet the proposed standard.

• Why does ozone matter? The pollutant irritates the lungs of even healthy people. For those with respiratory problems such as asthma, it exacerbates the illness. It also can cause shortness of breath and chest pains. Research suggests that it also is risky to children and can shorten the lives of the elderly.

• What's next? The EPA proposal triggers a 90-day public comment period, to be followed by several public hearings across the country. The EPA will make a final decision on the standard March 12, 2008.

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