"U.S. EPA is giving states an extra year to meet Obama-era ozone regulations.

The agency will delay implementation of its 2015 ground-level ozone standard by one year to give states more time to develop air quality plans, Administrator Scott Pruitt announced late today in a move certain to cheer business groups and infuriate environmentalists.

States turned in their nonattainment recommendations last fall for areas that fail to meet the 70-parts-per-billion standard. EPA had been scheduled to make the final designations by this October, starting the clock on long-term efforts to bring those areas into attainment. The delay, announced in a letter to governors today, will push those designations back to 2018."

Sean Reilly reports for Greenwire June 6, 2017. [2]