The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said last week that it will not meet an October deadline for finalizing new air quality standards for ozone, or smog. The announcement marks the second time in two months the agency has delayed the standard.

In January, EPA proposed tightening the public health standard for ozone to a level between 0.060 ppm (parts per million) and 0.070 ppm, down from the current standard of 0.075 ppm set by the Bush administration in 2008. The agency also proposed a separate, seasonal standard tailored to the environment. If finalized, the standards would align with recommendations made by EPA’s independent scientific advisers. The standards are expected to have a major positive impact in public health, reducing health risks and even preventing heart attack and death.

Initially, because environmental groups had sued the agency for setting a standard too weak to adequately protect public health, EPA had agreed to revise the standards by Aug. 31. In August, the agency asked for an extension “to sign a final rule on the reconsideration of the 2008 Ozone standard on or about the end of October 2010.”

Considering that conservatives lawmakers in both parties are increasingly assailing the EPA for what they perceive to be burdensome regulation, the cynic in me fears the announcement may be political. Did EPA delay the standard until after tomorrow’s midterm elections to stave off further criticism?