Fair Air Standards Act would let states petition EPA over out-of-state ozone pollution
Wisconsin Republican lawmakers on Monday introduced federal legislation that would allow states to petition the Environmental Protection Agency to redesignate ozone nonattainment areas as attainment zones if pollution is shown to originate outside their borders, a move they say would end vehicle emissions testing requirements in seven southeast Wisconsin counties.
U.S. Reps. Glenn Grothman, Bryan Steil, Scott Fitzgerald and Tom Tiffany announced the Fair Air Standards Act at a press conference at Reis Auto Shop in Hales Corners. The bill targets portions of the state currently designated as an ozone nonattainment area because of pollution drifting in from outside Wisconsin, including from Chicago.
Portions of Wisconsin are designated as an ozone nonattainment area due to pollution originating outside the state, according to the lawmakers. The Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have reported that Wisconsin sources contribute no more than 10% of the ozone emissions monitored in the current nonattainment area.
Under current federal law, when an ozone nonattainment area misses a deadline, its classification is automatically bumped to a higher level regardless of the pollution’s origin. That triggers stricter permitting requirements and other regulatory burdens, including vehicle emissions testing mandates for families, employers and workers in the affected areas.
Nine out of 10 vehicles in Wisconsin pass the current emissions testing requirements, but inspections continue to cost families time and money, the lawmakers said.
The Fair Air Standards Act would create a process for states to petition the EPA showing that nonattainment status is driven by pollution from outside their boundaries. If proven, the EPA would be required to redesignate the area as an ozone attainment area. That change would end Southeast Wisconsin’s nonattainment status and associated federally mandated compliance burdens, including vehicle emissions testing in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Kenosha, Racine, Ozaukee, Sheboygan and Washington counties.
The legislation would not otherwise affect Wisconsin’s compliance with air quality or environmental standards, according to a background summary provided by the lawmakers’ offices.
“Because of outdated federal rules, hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin drivers in seven counties are forced to complete emissions tests every two years just to renew their registration,” Tiffany said. “Wisconsin families should not be punished with costly and time-consuming mandates because of pollution drifting in from Illinois and Indiana. Four decades later and with cleaner vehicles on the road, it is time to end this non-attainment zone mandate and stop burdening drivers with a system that cannot prove it works.”
“Families in Wisconsin shouldn’t be paying for pollution originating from outside the state, in places like Chicago,” Steil said. “The Fair Air Standards Act ensures that Wisconsin’s non-attainment status is tied to activity originating in our state not those in other areas. Our bill reduces burdens for families, employers, and workers across Southeast Wisconsin while holding out-of-state polluters responsible for their actions.”
