GREENSBORO -- Local industries and road projects wont face stringent new regulations after the federal government ruled that the Piedmont Triad has a strong plan in place for reducing air pollution.

The ruling, issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, gives the Piedmont Triad until December 2007 to reduce a specific kind of air pollution -- ground-level ozone -- as required under the national Clean Air Act. Local officials were informed of the decision Monday.

Im very pleased. Weve been working hard to address this issue and to move our air quality forward, said Dan Besse, the Winston-Salem council member who heads the Piedmont Triad group charged by the EPA to address ozone pollution.

Ground-level ozone forms when still, hot conditions cause emissions from power plants, vehicles and other fossil-fuel burners to react with the atmosphere. The colorless gas can trigger asthma and other breathing problems and at high levels can harm even healthy lungs, giving them the equivalent of a sunburn.

Because the Piedmont Triads ozone problems were particularly bad, local officials were given the choice in 2002 to design a plan to clean the air fast or to face stringent regulations on new industries, development and transportation projects.

Business and community leaders feared the regulations would harm the local economy. So they promised to clean up the air by 2007, entering into a so-called Early Action Compact. Local officials, representing 11 counties and 20 cities in the Piedmont Triad, then drew up a plan for reducing ozone pollution, which was officially approved by federal officials last week.

That plan includes: building sidewalks and greenways, increasing bus ridership and promoting energy-efficient building design.

The biggest ozone reductions will come from two statewide initiatives: an expanded vehicle inspection and maintenance program and an open burning ban during ozone season.

Reductions have already been made through state-mandated pollution cuts at coal-fired power plants such as Duke Powers Belews Creek Steam Station.

In a broader report on air quality programs in North Carolina, federal officials noted that several of the Piedmont Triads strategies stood out as particularly strong.

State air monitoring data indicates the Piedmont Triad is on track to meet the 2007 deadline for reducing ozone. But if the deadline isnt met, the EPA could implement strict regulations.

Contact Elyse Ashburn at 373-7090 or eashburn@news-record.com