Stricter Ozone Rule = Nonattainment for Ohio
Mark Green
Posted August 15, 2014
Yesterday, we highlighted the potential impacts of a new, stricter ground-level ozone standard for North Carolina – reduced economy, job losses and more. Today, a look at Ohio. The graphic below illustrates (click for a PDF):
The map shows that every county in Ohio would be in nonattainment or non-compliance with an ozone standard of 60 parts per billion (ppb), which EPA is considering to replace the current 75 ppb standard. Counties in red are those with ozone monitors located in them; those in orange are unmonitored areas that could be expected to violate the 60 ppb standard, based on spatial interpolation.
The potential economic costs to Ohio would be significant. The state could see $204.3 billion in gross state product loss from 2017 to 2040 and 218,415 lost jobs or job equivalents per year. On a practical level, manufacturers wouldn’t be able to expand to counties in red or orange unless other businesses shut down, and federal highway funds could be frozen.
The potential harm for Ohio reflects what could result nationally from a stricter ozone standard. Earlier this month the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) issued a report estimating that U.S. GDP could be reduced by $270 billion per year and that there could be 2.9 million fewer job equivalents per year on average through 2040. The NAM report says manufacturers and households potentially could see increased natural gas and electricity costs. Up to 94 percent of the country could be out of compliance with a 60 ppb standard:
Click here for a state-by-state analysis of the ozone standard proposal, which Howard Feldman, API’s director of regulatory and scientific affairs, said could be the “costliest EPA regulations ever.” As NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons recently said, now is not the time to “sacrifice millions of jobs and trillions of dollars in pursuit of dubious benefits and unreachable targets.”
About The Author
Mark Green joined API after a career in newspaper journalism, including 16 years as national editorial writer for The Oklahoman in the paper’s Washington bureau. Previously, Mark was a reporter, copy editor and sports editor at an assortment of newspapers. He earned his journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma and master’s in journalism and public affairs from American University. He and his wife Pamela have two grown children and six grandchildren.