The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently approved the state of Texas’ clean-air plan for the greater Houston area under the Clean Air Act’s 1979 1-hour and 1997 8-hour ozone standards. EPA determined the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) area continues to attain both standards and meets the criteria for ending obligations to prevent the area from “backsliding” in air quality and potentially failing to meet the standards. The state’s clean-air plans for ozone in the HGB area will now address the Clean Air Act’s 2008 and 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
