The air quality in the Phoenix area has reached a critical point, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) downgrading it to “serious” levels. This new classification could lead to restrictions on growth, shifts to cleaner energy, and lower-emission vehicles in an effort to address the issue.
The Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG), responsible for air quality planning in the region, concurs that the region’s ground-level ozone is at unhealthy levels. However, MAG highlights that a significant portion, 80%, of the smog in Arizona originates from external sources, including California, Mexico, and natural events like wildfires and lightning.
Arizona’s Republican congressional delegation has expressed opposition to the EPA’s downgrade. In a letter to President Donald Trump, they argued that local efforts alone wouldn’t be sufficient to meet air quality standards due to the external sources of pollution. “These additional controls … will not improve air quality. They will only serve to halt economic and industrial development in and around one of the fastest growing and important economies in the United States,” stated Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, alongside his colleagues…