EPA stepping up oversight of local, state regulators

摘要

U.S. EPA will step up oversight of state and local air agencies after an internal watchdog warned that potentially faulty monitoring data could put the accuracy of ground-level ozone readings at risk. Under recently developed guidance, EPA regional auditors will be charged with reviewing the criteria used to validate the accuracy of air quality monitoring data, agency air chief Bill Wehrum said in a written response to a report released today by the agency's inspector general. The auditors will also examine the processes that state and local regulators use to document any adjustments to the raw monitoring numbers before feeding them into a federal database, said Wehrum.