Bexar County was hit was with unfortunate news this week when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a non-attainment designation for not meeting national ozone standards. A non-attainment area is an area considered to have air quality worse than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) defined in the Clean Air Act.
San Antonio had been the largest county in the Country to be remain in attainment. However, on October 1, 2015 the EPA lowered the 8-hour ozone standard from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb. Despite the region’s population increasing by 1 million, San Antonio’s ozone levels have gone down from 93 ppb in 2003, to 73 ppb in 2016. A nonattainment designation means additional regulations that will increase costs and add undue burdens on businesses looking to relocate here or expand. Other impacts include changes to the planning process for future transportation projects, which could delay projects an additional six to 18 months. Furthermore, seven of our neighboring counties have been classified as attainment/unclassifiable areas. This could hamper San Antonio’s economic competitiveness, as businesses looking to relocate to Bexar County might opt for neighboring counties to avoid the additional regulations and cost.
Fortunately, the EPA has designated Bexar County as marginal nonattainment, the lowest classification of the five classification areas. Bexar County will now be tasked to get back in attainment by 2021. According the EPA’s acting administration, Andrew Wheeler “Information provided by the state indicates that the San Antonio area is on the path toward attainment, and we expect Bexar County will be able to demonstrate that it meets the standard well in advance of the attainment date in 2021."
Avoiding a nonattainment designation has been a top priority for San Antonio for the past two years. During our annual SA to DC trips, our members have met with key legislators and the EPA to discuss the importance of Bexar County remaining in attainment.
While this is not welcoming news for the business community, the Chamber will continue to support Bexar County and the City’s efforts in reducing emissions and improving air quality in Bexar County. “The Energy and Sustainability Committee will continue working with city, county, and state leaders to challenge this Federal intervention into a local issue that San Antonians had already resolved by their own voluntary actions. Thanks to the local voluntary efforts to reduce ozone precursors, Bexar County monitors are projected to meet the 2015 ozone NAAQS by 2020, and in 2017 38% of Bexar County’s Ozone comes from foreign sources,” said Brandon Seale, 2018 Energy and Sustainability Committee Chair and President of Howard energy Mexico.
