Resources, Naturally

EPA Lowers National Ozone Standard

On March 12, 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency lowered the federal standard for ground level ozone from 0.084 parts per million (set in 1997) to 0.075 parts per million. This is the most stringent 8-hour standard yet for ozone.

Ground-level or “bad” ozone is not emitted directly into the air but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Good ozone is found in the stratosphere or "good" ozone layer. This extends upward from about 6 to 30 miles and protects life on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. As the Environmental Protection Agency charmingly puts it in nursery rhyme fashion on their website: “Good up high, bad nearby”. Major sources of VOC and NOx include emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents.

The bureaucratic process in finally determining who is and who is not in compliance with this new standard is a long and complicated process (as history teaches us it must be in all bureaucracies throughout time and space). It also involves monitoring and measuring in problem areas, as well as an element of our unique system of federalism, in that the state and the federal government will haggle about what areas should be subject or not to this new standard, lawsuits will likely be filed by interests groups, an agreement will be reached finally, and a plan will be developed to improve the quality of air. The general regions the EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality have been studying (and working with businesses, indus try and local officials to improve air quality) remain essentially the same: the Dallas/Fort Worth region, Houston/ Galveston/Brazoria, Northeast Texas, Beaumont/ Port Arthur, Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso. As always, as our population spreads, so does our pollution.

Two websites with some additional information about the new standards are:

EPA – http://www.epa.gov/groundlevelozone/ actions.html

TCEQ –http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/nav/cec/improve_aq.html

Senate International Relations and Trade to Study Need for Additional County Development Authority

If you are a county official frustrated by the lack of county authority to help you ensure healthy, safe, orderly, and sustainable development in your county, Senator Eddie Lucio wants to hear from you. He chairs the Senate Committee on International Relations and Trade (and is a former county official and well aware of the challenges of your job) and was given this interim charge by the lieutenant governor: “Review state and local policies relating to development and growth in rural and unincorporated regions of the state. Work with housing advocates, county organizations and appropriate officials to assess the proliferation of substandard housing in rural and unincorporated areas.”

If you have a story to tell or a suggestion to make to the senator and his committee on this charge, please drop me or my colleague Laura Garcia a line (pauls@county.org or laurag@county.org) or call us (800-456-5974). The committee will be holding a hearing this spring on the charge and Senator Lucio wants to hear from you.