County of San Diego

EPA's Pending Ruling on San Diego County: 

High Cost, No Benefit

January 2012

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 attainment of the

standard is the culmination of a long-term trend of 

declining ozone levels and reflects the effectiveness 

of the San Diego County air pollution control 

program.

Despite the region's attainment of the air quality

standard, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) plans to rule that San Diego County is a 

"serious nonattainment area" for 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, the County's Air Pollution 

Control District (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. 

These 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, despite their 

considerable cost.

Fiscal Impacts:

Costs for businesses to prepare applications for federal 

operating permits could reach over $100,000 for each 

affected business, according to information from an EPAsponsored task force. Affected businesses will also incur 

significant ongoing expenses for record keeping, reporting, 

monitoring, and permit renewals. Business' compliance 

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 ozone forms 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 bronchitis. 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 years.

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 requirements.
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 order 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.