EPA ozone rule delayed

Link to Article Link to Inhofe EPW Press Blog The EPA won't meet its deadline to issue its reconsideration of the George W. Bush administration's ozone standard by the end of the month, but plans to issue the rule "shortly," according to an agency spokesman.

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EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson "is fully committed to finalizing EPA's reconsideration of the Clean Air Act health standard for ground level ozone. That reconsideration is currently going through interagency review led by OMB. Following completion of this final step, EPA will finalize its reconsideration, but will not issue the final rule on July 29, the date the agency had intended," EPA spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said in a statement. "We look forward to finalizing this standard shortly. A new ozone standard will be based on the best science and meet the obligation established under the Clean Air Act to protect the health of the American people. In implementing this new standard, EPA will use the long-standing flexibility in the Clean Air Act to consider costs, jobs and the economy," he said. The latest delay marks the fourth time the EPA has missed its deadline to issue the final standard after the Obama administration proposed last year to tighten the Bush-era standard that agency science advisers said wasn't strict enough to protect public health. The EPA has come under fire from industry and lawmakers who have urged the agency to abandon the reconsideration due to the high costs it could impose on businesses across the country.