New EPA rule bitter pill for highway industry

For the first time in 35 years the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revised its nitrogen dioxide (NO2) rules, and the change could affect major highways across the U.S. as well as place new areas on the “non-attainment” list for particulate matter. Areas placed on the list are not eligible for federal funding.

On Jan. 26, the agency unveiled it’s “one-hour standard,” which the EPA believes will reduce Americans’ exposure to the NO2 created by cars, power plants and other sources. The one-hour NO2 exposure limit is set at 100 parts per billion.

“For the first time ever, we are working to prevent short-term exposures in high-risk NO2 zones like urban communities and areas near roadways,” EPA Chief Lisa Jackson said in a statement. “We are moving into the clean, sustainable economy of the 21st century.”

EPA plans on enforcing the rule by placing monitors near roads in areas that have more than 500,000 residents. The “one-hour standard” will go into full effect in 2013.