The Fair Air Standards Act would amend the Clean Air Act to allow states to redesignate areas that fail to meet federal ozone air quality standards as attainment areas under specific circumstances. Specifically, a state governor could request redesignation if the state demonstrates that the area would have met federal ozone standards except for ozone pollution coming from outside its borders, such as from other states or foreign countries. The Environmental Protection Agency administrator would have 180 days to either agree or disagree with the state's findings, and if the EPA concurs, it must approve the redesignation. The bill affects regions struggling with ozone pollution and gives states an alternative pathway to compliance if they can prove that external pollution sources, rather than in-state sources, are responsible for their failure to meet air quality standards. The legislation does not specify funding amounts or implementation timelines beyond the 180-day EPA review period.
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