WASHINGTON - In a step that officials said would save lives, the Obama administration unveiled tougher air quality standards on Friday intended to reduce the amount of soot that can be released into the air.
Environmental groups and health advocates welcomed the move by the Environmental Protection Agency, saying it would protect millions of Americans at risk for soot-related asthma attacks, lung cancer, heart disease, and premature death.
But congressional Republicans and industry officials called the proposal overly strict and said it could cause job losses in areas where pollution levels are determined to be too high.
Perhaps wary of the rule’s political risk, the administration had sought to delay the new standards until after the November elections. But a federal judge ordered officials to act sooner after Massachusetts and 10 other states filed a lawsuit seeking a decision this year.
Gina McCarthy, the EPA’s top air official, said the new rule was based on a rigorous scientific review. All but six counties in the United States would meet the proposed standard by 2020 with no additional actions needed beyond compliance with existing and pending rules set by the EPA, she said.
Those counties are San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California; Santa Cruz County, Ariz.; Wayne County, Mich.; Jefferson County, Ala., and Lincoln County, Mont. All six face “unique challenges’’ and will receive individual attention from the EPA, McCarthy said in a conference call with reporters.
“We will work very hard to make sure by 2020 they can enjoy the same kind of clean air that the other 99 percent of US counties will achieve, based on the federal rules,’’ she said.
Industry groups said the administration’s assertion that so few counties would be affected by the new rule is based on the assumption that a dozen or more federal rules and standards - including several that are being challenged in court and in Congress - achieve their pollution reduction goals. The rules include controversial regulations governing mercury emissions and cross-state air pollution emitted by power plants, both of which face opposition from industry groups and members of Congress.
“The EPA wants to wave its hands and say, ‘Don’t worry about it, it will all be taken care of by 2020,’ ’’ said Howard Feldman, director of regulatory and scientific affairs for the American Petroleum Institute, the top lobbying group for the oil and gas industry. “I’m worried about disinvestment’’ in counties that fail to meet the new standards.
The rule could be felt especially hard in political swing states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, where a natural gas drilling boom has boosted local economies, Feldman said.
The new rule would set the maximum allowable standard for soot in a range of 12 to 13 micrograms per cubic meter of air. The current annual standard is 15 micrograms. The EPA said it would start designating counties that fail to meet the new standards as soon as 2014.
Soot, made up of microscopic particles from smokestacks, diesel trucks, wood-burning stoves, and other sources, contributes to haze and can burrow into lungs. Breathing in soot can cause lung and heart problems.
Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Malden and ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee, praised the new standards.
“Taking steps to reduce particulate matter pollution will mean fewer asthma attacks in our children and reduced respiratory problems in our elderly, all without requiring additional action on the part of states,’’ Markey said in a statement.