Industry groups use mayors’ meeting to push against ozone rule

A hundred business groups signed a letter to President Obama Friday asking him to abandon his plan to restrict ozone pollution levels.

The groups sent the letter the same day Obama is speaking at the annual meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors in San Francisco.

{mosads}They argued that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to set the ozone limit at 65 to 70 parts per billion — down from the current 75 parts per billion — would stifle economic activity.

“The objectives of this regulation are important: ensuring clean and safe air for the public and environment. We are committed to these objectives,” wrote the groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Chemistry Council.

“However, the simple fact is that we have reached a point with this particular policy that regulatory flexibilities are diminishing and technological feasibility is lacking,” they said. “We are committed to striving for additional improvements in environmental protection, but we need policies that allow us to grow, innovate and unlock the next generation of technological breakthroughs.”

The groups urged Obama to listen to the Conference of Mayors, which filed comments with the EPA in March opposing the rule, along other other associations of local government leaders.

Cities are uniquely impacted both by air pollution and by the regulations meant to control it; dense areas are like to have concentrated manufacturing, transportation and other activities that burn fossil fuels.

Those fossil fuels can turn into ozone, the main component of smog that can cause or exacerbate various respiratory illnesses.

Areas that do not comply with ozone limits must work to reduce pollution, which could impact businesses that rely on fossil fuels.