U.S. says 14 Ohio counties meet smog standard

CLEVELAND (AP) — Fourteen Ohio counties with a history of too much air pollution now satisfy air quality standards for ozone, more commonly known as smog.

But that classification isn’t likely to last long.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says today it wants to approve a request by Ohio to designate eight counties in the Cleveland area and six counties in the Columbus area as meeting smog standards. That’s based on a federal air quality standard from 1997.

But a new, more strict air standard was adopted in 2008. The Ohio EPA believes that, when new federal classifications come out next year, many counties will not meet the new standard.