New smog limits to be proposed

WASHINGTON – After years of inaction, the Obama administration is expected to propose tougher limits on smog today, according to people with knowledge of the rule-making effort. The new rule would be a major victory for public health groups, but it is sure to further stoke the partisan clashes between the president and Republicans poised to take control of Congress.

The current limit for ground-level ozone, the lung-damaging gas in smog, is 75 parts per billion. Concluding that the limit is too weak to protect people’s health, Environmental Protection Agency staff and its science advisers had recommended strengthening the federal standard to 60 to 70 parts per billion.

The proposal that the EPA will unveil would offer its preferred option of 65 to 70 parts per billion, said the people familiar with the draft measure. A tighter limit on ground-level ozone could save lives and bring cleaner air to millions of people. Proponents say states will have ample time to meet the new benchmark and that technology could help close the gap.

But the oil industry, power companies and other industries, along with their mostly Republican allies in Congress, contend that a tighter ozone standard would damage the economy and send manufacturing jobs overseas. Even some nonpartisan experts such as former regulators worry that a deep cut to ozone implemented too fast could hammer local economies.