BOISE -- The government has announced tougher health
requirements to clean up the nation's air and air quality experts say the Treasure Valley will be challenged to meet the new standards.

On Wednesday, The EPA lowered the standard from 80 parts per billion of ozone per unit of air to 75 parts per billion.

Local air quality experts say there's a good chance the Valley would be in violation of the new federal standards.

"We've had several years of elevated ozone concentrations in the summer," said Leonard Herr with the Department of Environmental Quality. "The hot summers, the stagnant summers, and we've got a pretty good population growth which brings lots of cars, vehicle miles traveled."

The stricter standards will force communities to find more ways to reduce pollution.

And violating the standards means Idaho could lose the federal highway funds necessary to fix deteriorating roads.

"And that's a pretty good hammer," said Herr. "The states have a very strong interest in meeting these EPA requirements to develop these plans."

A bill that would allow the DEQ to mandate vehicle emission testing is working its way through the Idaho legislature.

Electric utilities, the oil and chemical industries, and manufacturing groups argued that lowering the standard would require states and local officials to impose new pollution controls, harming economic growth, when the science has yet to determine the health benefits conclusively.

The 80 parts per billion standard was enacted by the EPA in 1997, but its implementation was delayed for several years because of unsuccessful court challenges by industry groups.

An independent EPA advisory group of scientists last year told the EPA that an ozone standard of 60 to 70 parts per billion is needed to provide an adequate margin of protection to millions of people susceptible to respiratory problems. A similar conclusion was reached by a second advisory board on children's health.

In December, 111 health scientists urged the EPA to adopt the science panels' findings.

"Most studies show a steady reduction in the public health burden as the standard is tightened," said Jonathan Levy of the Harvard Center of Risk Analysis.

The EPA has said, based on various studies, cutting smog from 80 to 75 parts per billion would prevent between 900 and 1,100 premature deaths a year, 1,400 fewer nonfatal heart attacks and 5,600 fewer hospital or emergency room visits. A separate study suggests that tightening the standard to 70 parts per billion could avoid as many as 3,800 premature deaths nationwide.