Industry Warns White House of Uncertainty, Potential Costs of Tighter Ozone Standard

摘要

Industry associations have used recent meetings with White House officials to raise concerns about the potential costs of tightening the national ambient air quality standard for ozone and about uncertainties in scientific data that could be used to justify a more stringent standard, industry sources told Bloomberg BNA. The White House Office of Management and Budget is reviewing an Environmental Protection Agency proposal on whether to revise or retain the current health-based ozone standard of 75 parts per billion. The EPA is under a court-ordered deadline of Dec. 1 to issue the proposed rule, and agency officials have said that they intend to meet that deadline. The OMB has met with representatives of various industries, including the petroleum, chemical and paper industries, on three separate occasions over the past week. The meetings took place on Nov. 13, Nov. 17 and Nov. 19, according to industry sources.