EPA sets stricter emission standards for oil refineries

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules Tuesday to reduce toxic air pollution from oil refineries by forcing operators to adopt new technology that better monitors and controls emissions.

Janet McCabe, the EPA's top air regulator, told Congress that a new, stricter standard is needed to cut dangerous ozone pollution and prevent thousands of asthma attacks, emergency room visits and even premature deaths.

A new ozone standard, combined with greenhouse gas reductions mandated by a new rule limiting carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, "will extend the trajectory of the last 40 years when we've cut air pollution 70 percent — all while our economy has tripled," McCabe said Tuesday at a Senate hearing.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, countered that a new ozone limit would likely have negligible environmental benefits and comes with huge economic costs.

Obama made the comment — recalling his college days in Los Angeles — as he announced unprecedented carbon dioxide limits on coal-fired power plants, the biggest step taken by the U.S. on climate change.