Stricter EPA ozone rules may aid North Texas transit projects

DFW already in noncompliance

Steve Hawley, Jan 27, 10.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed stricter ozone emission standards, which may help transit projects in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, according to the Fort Worth Business Press.

The new rules, which would be finalized in August, would lower the ozone standard from 75 parts per billion to between 60 and 70 parts per billion. The final ruling will be based largely on public comments. A 60-day public comment period began January 7.

North Texas currently measures 86 parts per billion of ozone, exceeding the current standards. Between 60 and 65 percent of ozone emissions in the region come from traffic congestion, according to the EPA. Reducing the standards even further could speed up transit projects and other transportation projects that would either take cars off the road or reduce the amount of time cars spend idling.

The article notes:

Depending on the severity of the region’s out-of-compliance standings, once a new level is selected, [EPA spokesman Dave] Bary said the region would have anywhere from 2014 to 2031 to come into compliance with the new standard.

Vic Suhm, executive director of the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition, said new transportation technologies combined with ongoing highway expansion and public transportation projects in the region will help reduce ozone levels in the future, despite expected population growth.

“Public transportation is going to play a much larger role in the future than it does today and the truth is it has to because you cannot accommodate the amount of growth that’s going to come to this region with just pouring more concrete,” said Suhm. He also emphasized the importance of mixed use housing, which reduces sprawl and commute times.

The EPA will be holding a public hearing in Houston on Tuesday, February 2 to seek input on the new ozone standards. The hearing will last from 9:30 am to 7:30 pm at the Hilton Houston Hobby Hotel, in the Moody Ballroom on the ground floor. There will be a lunch break between 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm.