San Antonio Chamber Of Commerce: Chamber Requests EPA Retain Marginal Nonattainment Status For Bexar County

Press release from the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce - News:

July 2, 2021

On October 1, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) implemented a more stringent air quality (eight-hour ozone) standard. That change led Bexar County to be designated as nonattainment in July 2018, despite its proven track record of lowering emissions. Bexar County was designated as marginal, the lowest of 5 classification categories. Should Bexar County not meet the standard three years from the effective date of designation, they would be reclassified to moderate nonattainment.

A nonattainment designation adds costly and burdensome red tape for industry, requiring them to demonstrate that new and modified sources of pollution do not impede progress toward cleaner air. The requirements become more stringent the higher the classification.

The EPA is set to reclassify communities in nonattainment status by September 24, 2021. Your Chamber sent a letter to the EPA this week requesting they retain Bexar County’s marginal attainment, not reclassify as moderate nonattainment since recent photochemical modeling conducted by the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG), shows that less than 20 percent of ozone in Bexar County is locally produced, meaning the overwhelming majority originates outside the area.

Throughout most of 2020, Bexar County monitors were in full compliance with the ozone standard. However, weather caused serious issues in the fall. These ozone events were caused by a series of cool fronts that moved through the area beginning September 28. This was a highly unusual occurrence for Bexar County, as such high levels of ozone had not been recorded since 2010.

In April 2020, Bexar County experienced a dramatic reduction in ozone precursor emissions due to local “Stay Home, Work Safe” orders in response to COVID-19. Despite these reductions, the number of high ozone events that month was above average. This means there are several factors beyond our local control which cause high levels of ozone.

San Antonio was the last major city in Texas to be designated as nonattainment. From 2004 – 2019, Bexar County saw a 20 percent reduction in its ozone design value, despite adding nearly one million people to the region over the last 25 years. This decline in ozone design level can be attributed to the voluntary innovative approaches the public and private sector have taken to reduce emissions.

If the EPA reclassifies Bexar County as moderate nonattainment, the cost of doing business in our region would likely increase, hurting the business community’s bottom line and hindering their ability to attract new business investment. Our local economy has already been adversely affected by the coronavirus, now is not the time for new constraints on our local economy.

For more information, contact Stephanie Reyes, VP of Public Policy at sreyes@sachamber.org or by phone at 210-229-2162.

This press release was produced by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce - News. The views expressed here are the author’s own.