The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is scrapping its reconsideration of status quo ozone rules in favor of a lengthier review, which clean air watchers say will leave many communities unprotected.
The decision to wrap the reexamination of the 2020 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards into a full review means the agency will be starting a new probe from scratch, which could proceed for years.
The agency announced in 2021 that it was sending the 2020 smog rules for review, and estimated that a decision on the standards would come likely at the end of 2023.
But in ...