Ensuring equity in reducing regional ozone

Substantial progress has been made in improving air quality throughout the United States. Nonetheless, ozone nonattainment remains a concern, especially in California and the eastern US. What is especially clear in the eastern half of the US is that the long-distance transport of ozone and its precursors from one area to another may make it impossible for some areas to meet the federal health standard by taking actions only in their jurisdiction. The air coming into some metropolitan areas already is near or above the standard, even before local pollution is added. The Ozone Transport Assessment Group (OTAG) has been established as a cooperative effort among 37 states, EPA, and many private interests to address the phenomenon of regional ozone pollution in the eastern half of the US. OTAG´s goal is: “To identify and recommend a strategy to reduce transported ozone and precursors which, in combination with other measures, will enable attainment and maintenance of the ozone standard in the OTAG region. A number of criteria will be used to select the strategy, including, but not limited to, cost-effectiveness, feasibility, and impacts on ozone levels.” Discussions about how to achieve this goal also have focused on the concept of “equity” as a consideration in shaping the best strategy and suite of specific control programs. These discussions have been conceptual to date; no concrete definition of “equity” has emerged. The purpose of this paper is to suggest some key elements of what equity might mean in the OTAG context