Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has joined officials from Arizona, North Dakota, Oklahoma and New Mexico in a lawsuit that challenges the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new ozone standard.
"I am proud to join with other attorneys general to protect our States from the financial strain of this new rule," Rutledge said in the release.
Rutledge argued the new standard would have a detrimental economic effect on Arkansas, although other state officials have said the rule likely will not affect the state.
Ozone, often referred to as smog, occurs naturally in the atmosphere but forms at ground level when car exhaust and industrial emissions react to high temperatures and sunlight. Exposure to ground-level ozone can intensify allergies or respiratory problems for people who already have them.
Earlier this month, the EPA announced that it would tighten the ground-level ozone limit from 75 parts of ozone per billion parts of air to 70 parts per billion.
Areas that fail to be in compliance are evaluated by the state to determine how to meet ozone goals. Solutions often involve controls on emissions sources and more intensive permitting. Nonattainment status creates uncertainty when it comes to issuing permits, which is considered negative from an economic-development standpoint.
Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh has said she doesn't expect the level of 70 to be a problem anywhere in the state.
Ozone levels are calculated by taking the fourth-highest ozone level each year for three years of ozone data, then averaging those numbers. When factoring in 2015 ozone season data -- considered May 1 through Sept. 30 -- each ozone monitoring site in Arkansas came in under 70 parts per billion for its three-year average.
All but Crittenden County are in compliance with the current ozone rule, but the county is expected to come into compliance with the new standard without having to change anything because of measures taken in the Memphis area.
A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 5 to discuss the county's removal from the out-of-compliance list for ozone.
Areas won't be designated as in attainment or not in attainment with the new standard until 2017, when the EPA will consider data from 2014 through 2016. All but about a dozen counties in the United States are expected to be in compliance with the new standard, according to the EPA.
Metro on 10/30/2015