EPA: new requirements the strictest standards ever | WFTS-TV | First in HD

EPA: new requirements the strictest standards ever WFTS-TV First in HD


EPA: new requirements the strictest standards ever
Last Update: 3/12 8:17 pm

Downtown highrise buildings are shown cloaked in dirty air shortly after sunrise September 11, 2002 in Los Angeles, California. (David McNew, Getty Images) WASHINGTON (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency is calling its new multibillion-dollar smog restrictions "the most stringent standards ever." The government says the air in 345 counties is too dirty to breathe, and will require a clean-up. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson says state and local officials will have ample time to meet the new requirements -- as much as 20 years in the cases of the worst polluters. But some worry they do not go far enough to purge pollutants hanging above the nation's cities and towns. Scientists suggest lowering the allowable levels of ozone in the air even further to reduce related heart and asthma attacks. Johnson said he took those recommendations into account, but disagreed. He says he didn't consider the cost. The EPA estimates compliance could cost as much as 8.8 billion dollars a year by the time counties are expected to meet the requirement.