The Biden administration unveiled a rule Friday to slash smog pollution that comes from power plants and other industrial sources and drifts across state lines, endangering people in downwind states.
The proposal would lower levels from the power sector of nitrogen oxide, a pollutant that forms low-level ozone, or smog, by 29 percent by 2026, the EPA said. It would cost about $1.1 billion to complete, a “fraction” of the estimated benefits to public health and the environment, which the agency placed between $9.3 billion and $18 billion.
“Air pollution doesn’t stop at the state line,” Michael S. Regan, the EPA administrator, said in a statement. “This step will help our state partners meet air quality health standards, saving lives and improving public health in smog-affected communities across the United States.”
