Southern Air Still Suffering from Smog
White House steps back from strengthening ozone standard
In an unexpected move, President Obama has halted a proposal to strengthen the national standard for allowable ambient levels of ozone pollution, or smog. Although the improved standard would have protected untold numbers of children, senior citizens and others from further health risks, industry lobbyists went into overdrive this summer in a p.r. campaign to raise fears of lost job and ruined economies if the new air pollution standard were enacted.
Ozone pollution results primarily from coal-fired power plant emissions and vehicle exhaust. The Clean Air Act requires that the Environmental Protection Agency review the national ozone standard every five years. The agency's science committee has recommended lowering the allowable level of ozone in a community's air to better protect public health.
As SELC and others have documented for some time, improving air quality by reducing ozone pollution does not trigger economic catastrophe. (Read our "Don't Fall For It" fact sheet.) The EPA has been regulating ozone pollution for some 35 years with virtually no effect on economic cycles regionally or nationally, yet with steady improvements in air quality. Advanced scientific research now shows that persistent exposure to even low levels of ozone pollution causes lung and heart disease, and especially effects children, the elderly and those with existing lung and heart conditions.
We are deeply disappointed that the White House blocked a new standard, even though EPA was ready to move forward this year. Instead, the Administration has said it will conduct the routine review and propose a new standard in 2013. Unfortunately, some leaders in the House of Representatives have made widely known their intentions of gutting EPA's authority to effectively regulate ozone, as well as many other air pollutants.
Case Summary
When temperatures rise, it’s ozone season—the time of year when emissions from our tailpipes and smokestacks react with other chemicals in the presence of heat and sunlight to form ground-level ozone, a powerful lung irritant.
Ozone pollution, better known as smog, can trigger asthma attacks, reduce lung capacity, and increase risk of heart disease and even premature death. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable and are often warned to stay indoors on “bad air days.” While their respiratory systems are still developing, children risk permanent loss of lung capacity if exposed to pollution for long periods. For senior citizens, high ozone levels exacerbate the natural decline in lung function that occurs with age.
More Cities Fail to Meet Health-Based Standards
The current federal health-based standard for ozone pollution, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released in March 2008, falls short of the recommendations of public health professionals and EPA’s own scientists. Nevertheless, the updated benchmark goes farther to protect our lungs and shows that more southern cities than ever are suffering from air that’s unhealthy to breathe.
Metro areas such as Atlanta, Raleigh, Charlotte, Knoxville and Birmingham are expected to remain in violation of the federal ozone standard, and they are likely to be joined by other cities in our region, such as Winston-Salem, Macon, Richmond, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Kingsport, and Chattanooga. If found to be in “nonattainment,” they will face deadlines to reach the new standard or risk federal sanctions, including tighter smokestack controls and possibly the loss of federal highway funding.
Battling Pollution at Its Source
Our high concentration of coal-burning power plants and overdependence on cars and trucks are keeping us from bringing ozone pollution down to healthy levels in the South. To lead our region toward a clean energy future, SELC is spurring the cleanup of old, dirty power plants that continue to operate without modern pollution controls, and we are taking action to prevent utilities from saddling us with more coal-fired facilities.
SELC is also the leading voice for transportation reform in the South and is pursuing effective strategies to reduce how much and how far we drive. We are working at the federal and state levels to increase investment in rail, public transit, and other alternatives to driving, and we are promoting better coordination of transportation and land use planning to curb sprawling development patterns that make our per capita driving distances some of the longest in the nation.
Filed Under
This Case Affects
North Carolina Alabama Georgia South Carolina Tennessee Virginia
Attorneys on Case
Brian Gist David Farren Frank Rambo Gil Rogers Gudrun Thompson Trip Pollard