The Early Action Compact: A Brief History
On June 15, 2004, as part of a continuing federal-state effort to make the nation's air healthier to breathe, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named areas across the U.S. that would be required to reduce emissions of ozone-causing pollution. These areas, called nonattainment areas, had (or contributed to) ozone levels higher than allowed under EPA's new 8-hour ozone national air quality standard. The standard was designed to protect the public from exposure to ground-level ozone. This designation process played an important role in letting the public know whether air quality in their community was healthy. Once the designations and classifications took effect, state, tribal and local governments prepared a plan that described their efforts to reduce ground-level ozone.
San Antonio was in compliance with the 1-hour ozone standard but was in violation of the stricter, newly enacted 8-hour ozone standard. San Antonio chose to sign an Early Action Compact (EAC) with EPA that would defer the effective date of a nonattainment designation. Because the area was already meeting the national 1-hour ozone standard it was eligible for the innovative EAC program. Representatives of the local communities, state air quality officials, and EPA Regional Administrators signed the EAC. The EAC covers the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area (SA/MSA) that includes: Bexar, Guadelupe and Comal counties. The EAC gave the area the flexibility to develop its own approach to meeting the 8-hour ozone standard and the ability to reduce ground-level ozone pollution sooner than the Clean Air Act (CAA) would otherwise require. As long as the EAC area meets agreed upon milestones, the impact of a nonattainment designation for the 8-hour ozone standard will continue to be deferred until December 31, 2007 . December 31, 2007 is the date that the SA/MSA will have to attain the 8-hour ozone standard. If the area does not meet the EAC attainment deadline, a nonattainment designation will become effective April 15, 2008.
In order to qualify for the first deferred effective date (to September 30, 2005 ), the SA/MSA submitted to EPA a completed compact by December 31, 2002 . This compact is called The Clean Air Plan . The following is a short history of important EAC events:
• On June 16, 2003, the SA/MSA was required to submit to EPA a preliminary list of control measures the area was considering adopting and implementing.
• June 30, 2003, the area submitted its 1 st Biannual Report to EPA as an EAC required milestone.
• December 31, 2003, the area submitted its 2 nd Biannual Report to EPA as an EAC required Milestone.
• June 30, 2004, the area submitted its 3 rd Semi-Annual Report to EPA as an EAC required Milestone.
• On March 31, 2004 the SA/MSA was required to submit plans that include final control measures, and modeling showing the area could use those measures to meet the ozone standard by December 31, 2007.
• By December 31, 2004, the State of Texas submitted to EPA revisions to our state implementation plans that incorporated these early action plans throughout the state.
• December 31, 2004 the area submitted its 4 th Semi-Annual Report to EPA as an EAC required Milestone.
• June 30, 2005, the area submitted its 5 th Semi-Annual Report to EPA as an EAC required Milestone.
• On August 16, 2005 -because the area continues to make progress towards clean air- the EPA again deferred the CAA requirements for the area from September 30, 2005 to December 31, 2006 .
• December 31, 2005 the area submitted its 6 th Semi-Annual Report to EPA as an EAC required Milestone.
To read the entire EAC visit:
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