Yes and no -- to a dead plan
The federal government wants to approve/disapprove a cleanup plan for an ozone standard that was abolished four years ago.
I'm never very clear on this business of rejecting part of something that is ultimately being approved. But apparently the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants some clarification on the plan.
So do I.
The deadline for this dead standard is in late 2010, which means, as I understand it, the Valley is supposed to have three clean years in a row. So the clean years were supposed to have started last year.
There were violations in 2008, but they took place during big wildfires. So will they still count or will they be waived? I believe that is being considered.
This year, I don't think there have been any ozone peaks that would have tripped the old one-hour standard. But the two worst months -- July and August -- are still ahead.
Even if the Valley has violations in 2008 or 2009, the EPA can grant extensions for the Valley as long as this region has a clean 2010.
Comments:
The air district will look for any excuse to show that a violation of an air quality standard should not count officially. They did the same with PM 10, claiming winds were stirring up dust on a day of almost still air a couple years ago. In this new situation, the important point is higher fees from stationary sources for ozone precursor emissions will kick in once this ozone milestone is not reached. I think the air district is more interested in protecting polluters than public health. Of course, that is nothing new.
Posted by: airqualityguy at July 6, 2009 5:06 PM
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