The House took a step toward delaying the Environmental Protection Agency’s strict new rules for smog-forming ozone on Wednesday.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill, 30-23, to delay the compliance timeline for the tighter EPA ozone standards, sending the legislation to the House floor.
The ozone rules are often referred to by industry as the costliest regulations in history, which many believe are nearly impossible to meet. The ozone rules require that ozone be reduced from the 75 parts per billion standard to 70 ppb.
Critics of the regulations argue that many pristine wilderness areas and national parks would fall out of compliance under the strict new regulations. They say the new rules would go into effect while many states are still struggling to comply with the current ozone standards put in place nearly a decade ago.
Proponents of the bill say there is little need for the new ozone standards while the previous rules are in place, and they want the new rules delayed.
The bill would delay the ozone rules for up to eight years. It also changes the timeline that EPA is allowed to consider updates to the ozone rules from every five years to every 10 years. The bill also directs the agency to consider the cost of new regulations, rather than only assessing the public health benefits.
