In October 2015 the EPA strengthened the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone to 70 parts per billion. This new standard will have implications for the wildland fire community. This page highlights regulatory information from the EPA, maps of potential non-attainment areas, testimonies, and the latest reports and research collected by the NWCG Smoke Committee.
About the Ozone Standard (information from EPA)
The EPA ozone standards page contains the final rule, memo for implementing the new standard, regulatory impact analysis, maps and tables, fact sheets, and technical documents. These are individually listed below:
Wildland Fire Responses to the Ozone Rule (Briefing Papers and Testimony)
- Southern Sierra Prescribed Fire Council Testimony to EPA on Ozone Standard Impacts in CA (pdf)
- Sierra Forest Legacy Additional Comments to EPA on Ozone Standard Impacts in CA (pdf)
- Sierra Forest Legacy and coalition partners Testimony (pdf)
- National Association of Clean Air Agencies Testimony (pdf)
- Western States Air Resources Council Testimony (pdf)
- Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies Release: State Environmental Agency Perspectives on Background Ozone & Regulatory Relief (pdf)
Maps and Acreages
NOTE: Official EPA designation for non-attainment will be based on 2014-2016 monitoring data.
Ozone Reports and Research
Deterministic and Empirical Assessment of Smoke's Contribution to Ozone (DEASCO3): 2014 Joint Fire Sciences Program Final Report for Project # 11-1-6-6, by Moore et al.
Large Wildfire Trends in the Western United States. 2014. Dennison, PE, Brewer, SC, Arnold, JD, and Moritz, MA. Geophysical Research Letters Vol. 41 (8) pgs. 2928-2933.
The Age of Western Wildfires. A 2012 Report from ClimateCentral.org
Western Region Air Partnership (WRAP) West-side Jump-start Air Quality Modeling Study (WestJumpAQMS). 2013 Final Report. Other WestJump materials on available on the WRAP WestJumAQMS webpage.