EPA may use ozone as backdoor to regulate CO2

A Wall Street Journal editorial (Web | PDF) reports that EPA may try to use the ozone national air quality standard as a means of regulating CO2. Here’s how it would work.

EPA may try to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) by setting a standard for ground-level ozone so low that fossil fuel use must be reduced on a state-by-state basis.

Recall that EPA staff and the Harvard air quality fraudsters claim there is no safe exposure to ozone.

So EPA could set the ozone national air quality standards (NAAQS) to zero.

The Clean Air Act does not require that cost be considered in setting NAAQS.

All states would be out of compliance forever as there are natural background levels of ozone.

This would give EPA effective and arbitrary control over the entire economy, especially fossil fuel use.

But didn’t the Trump EPA just issue a new ozone NAAQS that’s good for five years, possibly post a Biden-Harris term?

Although the Trump EPA finalized the new ozone NAAQS in December — and so they would ordinarily be good for 5 years — the Democrat Congress could use the Congressional Review Act to undue the Trump EPA decision.

This would give the Biden EPA a mandate to redo the ozone NAAQS ASAP.

The whole thing could be done this year.