Olson Thanks House Colleagues for Passing Common Sense Ozone Bill

Statement

Today Rep. Pete Olson (TX-22) announced that the House passed his bill H.R. 4775, Ozone Standards Implementation Act. The bill gives states tools to meet important new upcoming ozone and other air quality standards issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It also protects public health while ensuring practical implementation issues are addressed in an achievable and sensible way. The bill passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 234-177.

"Our nation has worked hard to reduce ozone levels and improve air quality," Rep. Pete Olson said. "As we continue this progress, we need to give states better tools to meet air quality goals efficiently. As we work to keep this trend moving in the right direction, my bill provides needed flexibility so that states and localities can adequately achieve new, lower standards with time for compliance. I'm proud that this common sense bill received bipartisan support in the House and I urge the Senate to act quickly as well."

Background: H.R. 4775 allows states to pursue cost-effective and practical implementation of EPA's ozone standards. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA sets standards for criteria pollutants, including ground-level ozone. EPA established updated ozone standards in 2008, but did not publish implementing regulations for the 2008 standards until March 2015, and states are just beginning to implement those standards. In October of 2015 EPA revised these standards and states are now faced with the prospect of trying to implement overlapping ozone standards.

*Olson is Vice Chair of the Energy and Power subcommittee.

Source