The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will reconsider the previous administraton's new ozone standard, which was not as strict as government science advisers suggested at the time.

The stricter standard advocated by the EPA's science advisers would bring a slew of violations to the San Joaquin Valley.

For instance, last month the Valley had 10 healthy days under the standard from the Bush Administration. Six of those healthy days would become violations if the stricter standard is enforced.

The legal watchdog Earthjustice challenged the current standard, and the EPA had been required to submit a report this week to a federal court.

The EPA now says it will reconsider the standards by Dec. 21. A final action on the reconsideration is expected by Aug. 31, 2010.