Economic impact of proposed ozone NAAQS

摘要

Advocates of U.S. business are emphasizing adverse economic impacts on a grand scale in their opposition to EPA's November 2014 proposal to lower the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone. One rallying cry is that a rule written as proposed may be the most costly regulation in U.S. history. Arguments to support that position were voiced by business representatives at a hearing of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Committee, and we summarize several of the points made here. Background ozone levels, an additional concern among businesses that will find themselves in new ozone non-attainment areas, was also discussed at the hearing, and we note the approach the EPA is proposing to account for this phenomenon.