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U.S. EPA APPROVES SANTA BARBARA AIR POLLUTION PLAN REGION'S AIR MEETS FEDERAL HEALTH STANDARD

Release Date: 6/28/2000
Contact Information: Lisa Fasano, U.S. EPA, 415-744-1587, Doug Allard, Director, Santa Barbara County APCD 805-961-8853, Tom Murphy, Plan Coordinator, Santa Barbara County APCD, 805-961-8857

     SAN FRANCISCO   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced approval of the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District's ozone reduction plan that brought the region into attainment reducing smog pollution by the end of 1999, the plan's major goal.

     "The Santa Barbara County Air District has made excellent progress in cleaning the air during a period of significant population growth," said Felicia Marcus, EPA's regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest. "The district has been creative working with local industry to create cleaner, more breathable air for the 410,000 people living in Santa Barbara County."

     The plan now becomes the federally enforceable ozone plan for Santa Barbara County.

     The next step will be for the Air District to submit a maintenance plan to the EPA ensuring the area will continue to meet the health standard for the next 10 years.  Once the EPA approves the maintenance plan, it will then re-designate the Santa Barbara County region as having attained the one-hour health standard for ozone.

     Since 1997, the region has been classified as a "serious" ozone non-attainment area.