Editor:
Your editorial "A Victory for Clean Air" (9/29) fails to note the scientific controversy over ozone transport -- i.e., do air emissions from the Midwest really cause smog in the Northeast?
Long range ozone transport is a construct of mathematical models, not a scientific fact -- a fact pointed out by the EPA's own advisory panel, the Ozone Transport Assessment Group. The OTAG found that while short-range ozone transport occurs, it is not a major contributor to Northeast smog. The advisory group called for more research before moving ahead with new controls. The EPA ignored this advice. According to a report in Electricity Daily, the EPA even encouraged the Northeast states to blame Midwest emissions.
Northeast smog is caused primarily by sources in that region. But the Northeast would like to shift elsewhere the high costs of coming into compliance with EPA standards.
Since the air in the Northeast will not measurably improve from the new smog rules, your editorial should have been titled "A Victory for Junk Science."
Steven Milloy
Publisher, www.junkscience.com
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