Why was the Ozone Transport Region Created?
Given that ozone is a regional problem, it requires a regional solution. Traditional ozone control stategies, where the ozone problem in a given area is addressed by focusing only on ozone precursors generated in that area, have failed to bring the ozone problem under control in many parts of the country. The Act provided for the establishment of Ozone Transport Regions and directed that an Ozone Transport Region be established in the northeast, comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Statistical Area, including the northern Virginia suburbs. The creation of an Ozone Transport Region enables measures which address ozone nonattainment as a regional problem, rather than addressing ozone nonattainment in each urbanized area individually.
