"U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is again signaling his determination to slow-walk key compliance decisions for the agency's 2015 ground-level ozone standard, raising the odds that only a prolonged court battle will settle the issue.

In a final rule signed yesterday, Pruitt declared some 2,650 counties as effectively in attainment with the 70-parts-per-billion standard but avoided saying when the agency will make final decisions for several hundred others, including many that are likely failing to meet that threshold.

While states had turned in their attainment recommendations more than a year ago, 'the ozone designation process is complex and requires ongoing and extensive conversations with state and local agencies,' Pruitt said in a news release. 'As we move forward, the agency will be able to prioritize, be more responsive to local needs, and move forward on a case-by-case basis.'"

Sean Reilly reports for Greenwire November 7, 2017. [2]