PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) — Comments by Indiana's top environmental official blaming Chicago for northwestern Indiana's air quality woes aren't sitting well in the Windy City.

Indiana Department of Environmental Management Commissioner Tom Easterly called Chicago "the No. 1 contributor" to high ozone levels in Indiana's heavily industrialized Lake and Porter counties during a recent visit to Portage, in Porter County.

He also said an air flow model shows that emissions from cars and trucks on Chicago roads and boats on Lake Michigan are behind the two counties' poor summertime air quality, and therefore play a role in their designation as nonattainment of federal ozone levels.

IDEM has petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to redesignate the area. But Illinois officials have objected to that move out of concern that a redesignation in Indiana would negatively affect air quality in their state.

Although Chicago contributes twice as much ozone pollution to the northwestern Indiana region as Indiana, it also has five times more residents than the two counties combined.

Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health programs with the Respiratory Health Association of Metropolitan Chicago, said Indiana adds a proportionately larger share — but it denies responsibility in a bid to increase its industrial development.

Urbaszewski also contends Indiana is far more worried about industrial growth than its citizens' health.

"It's pretty clear that Indiana wants to get into attainment status so that some requirements are removed from development. It's pretty clear they view those as impediments and want to make it cheaper and easier to expand, especially polluting industries," he said.

Under federal regulations, companies that want to expand or build new emission sources in a county not in attainment with the ground-level ozone limits are subject to more stringent requirements. They also must prove that any increases added by new industry will be offset by decreases elsewhere.

When a county is in attainment, companies only have to prove they are doing all they can by using the best available technology. Easterly said that is "sometimes less stringent" of a requirement because it takes cost and environmental effects into account.

To be redesignated, Lake and Porter counties must register below federal standards three years in a row.

Easterly said that after nearly three years of acceptable readings, an air monitor in Whiting measured ozone levels that were too high this summer. He said that will most likely prevent the sought-after redesignation.

"We cannot do it based on the data we had. We're going to have to look at what '08 looks like," he said.

Urbaszewski questioned whether Indiana would meet tighter ozone standards that the EPA is expected to adopt in a few months since it is having problems meeting the current standards.

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Information from: Post-Tribune, http://www.post-trib.com