Today, U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a letter to Dr. Christopher Frey, Chairman of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) to make transparent, independent recommendations to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The letter relays Vitter's concerns with the continued lack of transparency by the EPA when creating and implementing air regulations and the associated health benefits.
"Far too many of EPA's expensive air regulations rely on data that hasn't been sufficiently vetted or even provided the opportunity for independent evaluation," said Vitter. "As CASAC continues to review a potential lower national ozone standard, I urge them to uphold their legally mandated independence during the scientific review process, as well as to examine the adverse economic and energy effects that may result from actions necessary to meet a lower standard."
In 2008, EPA lowered the ozone national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) before the country had fully complied with the previous standard. Today, many states are only in the early stages of implementation of control strategies to meet that standard. Currently, the EPA is considering an even lower standard that could bring essentially all commercial, metropolitan, industrial hubs, and most rural areas into nonattainment. Nonattainment could significantly delay and even permanently shut down job-creating projects across the country.
