Bayou Buzz
Four major industrial projects, expected to bring in 2,000 jobs and more than $7 billion in capital improvements to the Baton Rouge area, have decided to go elsewhere since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced plans in December to consider tougher ozone standards, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber reported Monday.
The decision to not locate in Baton Rouge can be directly tied to the uncertainty over whether the ozone standard will be lowered below its current 75 parts per billion, a public policy commentary the chamber released Monday says.
The chamber’s policy report makes a case to the EPA to keep the national standard at its current 75 ppb or risk slowing down economic recovery across the nation.
“It’s going to be a dampening effect on places that haven’t been in non-attainment (not meeting the ozone standard),” said Adam Knapp, president and chief executive officer of the chamber.