County of San Diego



### EPA's Pending Ruling on San Diego County: High Cost , No Benefit

January 201 2

Issue:

In 2011, San Diego County reached an important

milestone for regional air quality improvement and public health when it attained the 1997 national

ambient air quality standard for ground

- level ozone

, a harmful air pollutant. In fact, 2011 was the region's cleanest year on record and a ttainment of th e standard is the culmination of a long

- term trend of declining ozone levels and reflect s the effectiveness

of the San Diego County air pollution control

program

.

D espite the region's attainment of the air quality standard, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to rul e that San Diego County is a

"serious nonattainment area" f or the standard

. The untimely ruling will generate negative economic impacts on the region by imposing new regulations and requirements while providing no air quality

benefit

.

This is a time when financial resources are in short supply. Businesses, government agencies, and the regional economy cannot afford excessive regulations that provide no benefit.

Regulatory Impacts:

A serious nonattainment classification will trigger additional federal requirements on San Diego County , necessitating considerable compliance efforts. A key requirement pertains to a federal operating permit program for major stationary sources pursuant to Title V of the Clean Air Act. To comply with the ruling, t he County's Air Pollution

Control Distric t (APCD) will have to amend its regulations to require up to one dozen local

businesses to obtain federal Title V operating permits (at considerable effort and expense) that they would not otherwise have had to obtain

.
Currently, local businesses are subject to operating permits from the APCD , as required by state law.

The se local permits limit emissions and require specific actions to ensure compliance with applicable air pollution control requirements

. The federal permits resulting from EPA's ruling are an additional step beyond the required local permits and will provide little or no added value

, despi te their

considerable cost. Fiscal Impacts :

Costs for businesse s to prepare applications for federal operating permit s could reach over $100,000 for each affected business, according to information from an EPA

sponsored task force. Affected businesses will also incur significant ongoing expenses for record keeping, reporting, monitoring, and permit renewals. Business' c ompliance

efforts will divert financial resources that could otherwise be available for business expansion and job creation,

which are needed to help generate and sustain an economic recovery

.
Background:

Ground

- level o zone form s when sunlight interacts with a group of air pollutants called ozone precursors , namely volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides. Breathing air containing ozone can reduce lung function and is linked to increased symptoms for those with asthma

and b ronchitis. Accordingly, in 1997 EPA established a national ambient air quality standard that requires regions to reduce eight

- hour average ozone concentrations in the

air to no more than 0.08 parts per million (ppm) as averaged over three consecutive year s

.

In 2004, San Diego County was designated by EPA as a

nonattainment area for the 0.08 ppm standard , with an ozone level of 0.09 ppm based on monitoring data

collected in 2001

– 2003

. At the time, EPA did not further

" classify " the region as "marginal," "moderate," "serious," "severe," or "extreme" nonattainment pursuant to the

Clean Air Act . Instead, EPA relied on Clean Air Act provisions that do not require classifications and declared San Diego County

, and other regions meeting specified air quality criteria

, to be only "basic" nonattainment areas. Basic areas are allowed some flexibility in their air quality attainment plans, whereas classified areas are subject to more prescriptive regulatory require ments.Background (continued) :

However, in 2006 a court ruled that EPA must reconsider its implementation methodology and criteria for foregoing nonattainment classifications (e.g. moderate or serious) in affected regions, including San Diego County. EPA plans to respond

to the court o rder with a ruling in early 2012 that will classify the region as a “ serious ” nonattainment area.

Contrary to EPA's pending ruling, San Diego County currently attains the federal standard with an ozone value of 0.08 ppm based on monitoring data

collected in 2009

- 2011. Nevertheless

, EPA still

intends to classify the region as a serious

nonattainment area prior to redesignating the region

to an attainment area

. Recommendation :

San Diego County has attained the 1997 federal ozone standard and therefore EPA should withdraw its proposed ruling to classify the region as a serious nonattainment area. Instead, EPA should work with APCD to redesignate the region as an attainment area for the standard.