OMA Environment Committee Receives Air Update; Cincinnati, Cleveland Could See Tighter Ozone Regs

This week, the OMA Environment Committee met virtually for its second meeting of 2020. Among the guest speakers was Bob Hodanbosi, the longtime chief of air pollution control at Ohio EPA, who updated members on Ohio’s current air quality status.

While Ohio has seen “dramatic improvement” in its air quality, Hodanbosi reported that it’s “not good enough” to meet certain federal standards, primarily in the category of ozone. The Cincinnati and Cleveland areas are both at high risk of being elevated to “moderate non-attainment” status due to the more stringent, 70-parts-per-billion ozone standard imposed by the U.S. EPA in 2015. An elevated status for either city would mean tighter controls on emitting industries. See Hodanbosi’s PowerPoint presentation.

OMA members also heard updates on federal and state issues, as well as a report from OMA Environmental Counsel Frank Merrill of Bricker & Eckler. The committee will meet again Sept. 29. 5/28/2020