EPA to reconsider Texas ozone nonattainment status for Houston, Dallas, San Antonio

WASHINGTON — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin sent a letter answering Texas Governor Greg Abbott's request to reconsider several Obama and Biden-era air actions, and the agency said it would reconsider the state's ozone nonattainment classifications.

EPA said it had considered new information from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and found it appropriate to reconsider Texas' nonattainment classification for the 2015 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). That review includes San Antonio's nonattainment status under the same standards.

The agency said it is also reconsidering the nonattainment status of Houston-Galveston-Brazoria and Dallas-Fort Worth under the 2008 Ozone NAAQS.

EPA also announced it would reconsider the agency's 2022 disapproval of Texas' Clean Air Act (CAA) 179B demonstration. Section 179B lets states show they would have met federal ozone standards but for emissions transported into the area from outside the United States, according to the agency.

"Texas should not be unfairly punished with burdensome requirements, such as being forced to implement a vehicle inspection and maintenance program, if the state’s data shows they are meeting air quality standards," Zeldin said.

EPA said it cannot prejudge the outcome of the reconsiderations. If it were to redesignate or reclassify Texas ozone nonattainment areas, those areas would no longer be subject to certain stringent CAA requirements, the agency said.

EPA said it plans to propose reconsideration actions by the end of this year and finalize all actions next year.