BATON ROUGE (AP) — Not much will change for the five-parish Baton Rouge area if a proposed new, tougher ozone standard announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in late November is adopted.
The EPA proposed a new rule that would lower the ozone standard from 75 parts per billion to between 65 ppb and 70 ppb.
The Advocate’s Amy Wold reports industry and residents of East Baton Rouge, West Baton Rouge, Ascension, Iberville and Livingston parishes have been living with ozone-related regulations for decades. The area came into compliance with the latest ozone standard late last year.
Opponents, such as Gov. Bobby Jindal and U.S. Rep. and newly elected U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., say lowering the standard during a time of economic recovery will cost jobs and economic development while bringing minimal returns.
