The bad news is southern and midcoast Maine may soon reappear on a federal list of areas that don’t meet air quality standards for smog.

The good news is we could get cleaner air as a result.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a tightening of its standards for ground-level ozone, a component of smog created by smokestack and tailpipe exhaust and the summer sun. Depending on how far the agency raises the bar, southern and midcoast counties could fall short and lose their attainment status.

Those two regions were removed from the federal non-attainment list only last December, the first time since ozone monitoring began in 1970 that the entire state met federal air quality standards.

It was a definite mark of progress. But, after losing a lawsuit, the EPA now agrees its existing clean air standards don’t go far enough to protect everyone.

Getting back on the list would require the state to reduce pollution even further. A higher standard also would put more pressure on downwind states to the west and south to clean up emissions that drift our way. Maine and other New England states are already saying the potential new standards are not tough enough.

The new federal standard won’t be finally decided until next year. Look here for an EPA description of the possible changes and maps that show what areas could end up on the dirty list. And look here for a Reuters article about the proposal.

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