The Obama administration and the Environmental Protection Agency released a new proposal which could make Arizona out of compliance, according to AZCentral.com.
The EPA has proposed stricter smog standards placing all 15 of Arizona counties under violation of the new standards, AZCentral.com reported.
Various counties exceeded the ozone levels numerous days during the year which exceeded EPA's current standard, according to AZCentral.com.
According to the new report, Arizona will need to reduce pollutant from sources including vehicles, power plants and factories in order to comply with the new proposal, according to AZCentral.com.
Arizona's Maricopa County is already in violation of the EPA's 2008 standards for the ozone. This means Arizona will have to pay more attention to when and how often they drive, or will have to work together with other states to decrease emissions blowing into the area, AZCentral.com.
The new EPA report proposes reducing the ozone concentration standard from 75 parts per billion to 65 to 70 parts per billion, and all the states in the United States will have until 2020 to 2037 to meet these standards, according to AZCentral.
If the standard changes to the lower 65 parts per billion, then all 11 monitored counties would be out of compliance, AZCentral.com reported. The EPA reviews the standard every five years under the Clean Air Act.
Arizona Senator Jeff Flake is reviewing the proposal, but released a statement saying the proposal's benefits are not enough compared to the economic issues the proposal will cause, AZCentral.com reported.
"I remain deeply concerned about efforts to impose one of the most costly environmental rules in U.S. history," Flake said, according to AZCentral.com
Arizona's new businesses would have to figure out how to offset their emissions before beginning operations under the new proposal, and existing facilities may have to pay for new equipment to come into compliance, AZCentral reported.
The EPA is accepting public comment and will issue a final rule by Oct. 1, 2015.
