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Today, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a legislative hearing on the Ozone Standards Implementation Act (H.R. 4775), of which Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH) is an original co-sponsor.

This legislation empowers states to deal with the consequences of the recent revision to U.S. EPA’s current National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70ppb by providing more time and flexibility to implement the 2015 standard.

“No one opposes clean air or clean water; however, I remain concerned that implementing the 2015 standards just as the previous revisions to the NAAQS standards are beginning to be implemented in counties across the country will prove extremely expensive and lead to incredible costs for my home state of Ohio,” said Latta. “This legislation allows states more time to implement the newest standard, which is key for ensuring that we do not stifle the incredible advances we have made in the energy, manufacturing and chemical sectors. I am pleased that we held this hearing and I look forward to moving toward passage of this legislation.” 

“H.R. 4775 will also make needed reforms to the NAAQS program by adding technical feasibility of a standard as a consideration that the EPA may consider and extending the time between revisions of the standards from five to ten years. This time extension will help states have the time needed to fully implement a standard before they are dealing with a new standard.”