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ESTIMATED TIMELINE FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROPOSED STANDARDS <br />• EPA will issue final standards by March 12, 2008. Based on that date, EPA estimates the <br />following implementation schedule: <br />o By June 2009: States make recommendations for areas to be designated attainment and <br />nonattainment. <br />o By June 2010: EPA makes final designations of attainment and nonattainment areas. <br />Those designations would become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal <br />Register. <br />0 2013: State Implementation Plans, outlining how states will reduce pollution to meet the <br />standards, are due to EPA (three years after designations). <br />0 2013 to 2030.• States are required to meet the standard, with deadlines depending on the <br />severity of the problem. <br />WHAT IS OZONE? <br />• Ozone is found in two regions of the Earth's atmosphere - at ground level and in the upper <br />regions of the atmosphere. Both types of ozone have the same chemical composition (03). <br />While upper atmospheric ozone forms a protective layer from the sun's harmful rays, ground <br />level ozone is the primary component of smog. <br />• Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but forms through a reaction of <br />nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of sunlight. <br />• Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline <br />vapors, and chemical solvents are the major man-made sources of NOx and VOCs. <br />• Because sunlight and hot weather accelerate its formation, ozone is mainly a summertime air <br />pollutant. Both urban and rural areas can have high ozone levels, often due to transport of <br />ozone or its precursors (NOx and VOCs) from hundreds of miles away. <br />BACKGROUND ON THE NATIONAL AIR QUALITY STANDARDS FOR OZONE <br />• The Clean Air Act requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) <br />for pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment. National standards <br />exist for six pollutants: ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur <br />dioxide, and lead. <br />~. m, ~ L1' <br />4 t <br />