PACK THE HOUSE FOR CLEAN AIR
By Ella Tyler
The EPA is holding public hearings on proposed changes to the 8-hour ozone standard on Wednesday, Sept 5 at the Houston Marriot West Loop, 1750 West Loop South, near the Galleria. The hearing will be from 9 am to 12:30 pm, 2 to 6 pm, and 7:30 to 9 pm. Hearings were in Philadelphia and Los Angeles yesterday, and will be in Houston, Atlanta, and Chicago on Sept. 5. The final rule is scheduled to be adopted next March.
The EPA is considering several options. Its proposal is to set a standard in the range of 0.070 – 0.075 ppm, but is also considering retaining the current 0.084-ppm standard. However, the EPA’s Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee concluded that the standard should be set in the range of 0.060 to 0.070 ppm.
The EPA is soliciting public comments on all three options. For complete information about how to submit comments, see the EPA website.
In some ways, the standard is irrelevant to our region. We do not meet the current standard. The first deadline for the Houston area to meet an ozone standard was 1975, but the deadline was not met then. Three extensions later, the deadline is now 2019. Governor Rick Perry asked for an extension of the 2010 deadline for the Houston-Galveston area (which includes the adjacent counties) to comply. Perry asked for Houston to be reclassified from moderate to severe for the formation of ground-level ozone during an 8-hour period, giving the area an extra nine years to meet the EPA regulations.
Even if the new standard is yet another standard that will not be met, Houston residents are particularly competent to testify about the proposal because our weather is so favorable for producing high concentrations ozone. Houstonians can testify from their own experience about how ozone (a major component of smog) aggravate severe respiratory symptoms, and is dangerous for children and individuals with lung illnesses like asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Additionally, a large crowd at the hearing, even if not everyone testifies, will show city and county officials that Houstonians are genuinely concerned about the problem of ozone in our city. Galveston Houston Association for Smog Prevention is seeking volunteers to be a part of the audience and help us keep track of the proceedings. Please call (713) 528-3779 or send an email to info@ghasp.org if you can help.
The deadline for written comments is October 9. The EPA site about the proposal is www.epa.gov/air/ozonepollution/actions.html. For more information about this issue, see the Mothers for Clean Air newsletter and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club’s press release. It contains links to sample testimony and to the American Lung Association’s fact sheet about ozone.