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The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation today, H.R. 806, the Ozone Standards Implementation Act, to provide more time and flexibility to meet federal ozone requirements and streamline the implementation process. Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) voted in favor of the legislation. He was an original co-sponsor of the legislation when it was introduced in February. The bill updates how the Environmental Protection Agency addresses ozone standards under the Clean Air Act in order to ensure that states aren’t complying with two different standards simultaneously.

“We don’t need to punish our energy, manufacturing, and chemical sectors in order to achieve our clean air goals,” said Latta. “Our country has made tremendous progress in reducing ozone levels and improving air quality. A major reason for that is because we’ve set goals that have been realistic and attainable. Providing more time and flexibility to meet the EPA’s most recent standards will help give states the ability to reach these benchmarks without harming job creation and local economies. We all share the goal of clean air and water, and we can do it in a way that makes fiscal and economic sense.”

The Ozone Standards Implementation Act addresses the overlap between standards issued by the EPA in 2008 and 2015. Despite only receiving implementation guidelines from the EPA for the 2008 ozone standards in March 2015, they were expected to implement 2015 guidelines only seven months later as well. This meant that states are effectively complying with two separate standards at the same time. The Ozone Standards Implementation Act extends the compliance date for the 2015 standards to 2025, as states attempt to meet the 2008 EPA standards. The phased in schedule would ensure less confusion, complexity, and uncertainty for states trying to meet the EPA’s requirements.

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