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he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce this week that it will reject the county's latest plan to limit coarse-dust-particle pollution and levy a series of escalating sanctions until the air is cleaner. Failure to reduce air pollution and meet federal air-quality standards could cost the region nearly $2 billion in direct highway funds, billions more in canceled transportation projects and the thousands of jobs those projects generate.
Ultimately, the EPA could step in and impose its own plan, taking control away from local authorities. Maricopa County admits it has a pollution problem and developed what it thought was an ambitious dust-control plan in 2007 after earlier attempts to clean the air failed. Fine dust particles infiltrate people's lungs and can lead to illness and even death.
State and county officials said their efforts were working, but the EPA said in May the county already had failed, and under pressure from environmental groups, the agency moved toward officially rejecting the county's plan. The EPA's decision will become final in January, barring either a successful appeal or a lawsuit by state and county officials. To restore withheld federal highway funding and satisfy the EPA, the county would have to revise its plan, adding costly new controls on construction, power generation, sand and gravel operations and even the use of leaf blowers and off-road vehicles.
State and county officials believe the EPA is basing its decision on a flawed rule about what defines a violation of the law. Federal officials say the county's plan simply fails to meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act, which sets pollution standards.
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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/08/29/20100829air-pollution-in-maricopa-county-funding-cuts.html
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