EPA Releases New Ozone Limits

Although our air, land and water are cleaner than arguably before the Industrial Revolution, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this month announced its new restrictive ground-level ozone standard: 70 parts per billion (ppb). It could have been set even lower – at 65 or even 60 – which would have been more restrictive and affected a large portion of the Indiana population.

At 70 ppb, we believe that all Indiana counties will meet the standard and thus be in “attainment.” However, there is a monitor in Wisconsin that will trip the Chicago area into nonattainment and include the Indiana counties of Lake and Porter. The consequence of “nonattainment” means that there can be no business expansion or new business unless that expanded or new business does not add any additional components to the area’s ozone. Essentially, it would stop any expansion, growth or new business. Additionally, Clark and Floyd counties will likewise be pulled into the Louisville nonattainment status and there is an outside chance that a county or two near Cincinnati may be affected.

Indiana will likely meet this new 70 ppb standard because power plants have shut down or made the very expensive changes necessary to shift over to natural gas as a result of the many EPA requirements designed to eliminate coal The Indiana Chamber has strongly opposed these anti-coal provisions and will continue to do so because, despite diversification efforts, coal remains Indiana’s primary energy source.

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