Don’t delay smog reduction rules

RE: “HOUSE approves delay of Obama-era smog reductions” July 18, 2017

The delay of the Obamaera smog reductions regulations could have disastrous impacts on the local communities of New Mexico. As a person who was born and raised in New Mexico and is a student earning a masters degree in social work, I am a firsthand witness of the debilitating effects that health issues can have on families. Medical issues are especially taxing on low-income families who are already facing financial hardships.

As stated in the article, “Ground-level ozone can cause breathing problems among sensitive groups, causing thousands of premature deaths each year.” By delaying the implementation of air pollutant standards we would be placing children, the elderly and many with lung and breathing problems at a far greater risk than is actually necessary. Although the costs of meeting the EPA’s initial standards for air quality would be steep in the beginning, the longterm savings would far outweigh the short-term expenses of clean air standards. In an article (in the Journal) Sept. 26, 2015, it was stated that although it would cost $3.9 billion annually to achieve 70 parts per billion in air pollution standards by 2025, a failure to meet those same standards could result in an annual health cost of $13 billion.

I implore our state and local communities to consider carefully the effects our legislative choices have on the environment and health of our citizens. We should be letting our administration know we choose to be on the side of health and lower long-term costs of health care. We can work now on preventing more health issues and contributing to cleaner air for future New Mexicans by demanding clean air standards from our government. AMANDA DAVIS Rio Rancho