The National Association of Manufacturers has launched a multi-million dollar advertising campaign blasting the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed ozone regulations, arguing the agency wants higher clean air standards for cities than is currently found in national parks.

The campaign will run on cable and broadcast television in the Washington, D.C., market during the next two weeks and in key states over the next month, according to the association. Ads will also run online.

At issue is an EPA plan to improve the nation's air quality by tightening ozone standards from 75 to 65-70 parts per billion. EPA, environmentalists and public health groups say the changes could potentially save thousands of lives every year.

Business groups question the science behind the higher standards as well as the cost of implementiation. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently issued a report saying the new rules could delay several much-needed transportation projects in the D.C. region. In its ad campaign, NAM noted national parks such as the Grand Canyon, Zion and Yosemite would be out of compliance if the standards were implemented.

"Unfortunately, the new proposed ozone standard is so over the top, even places with no industrial activity for miles around will be considered noncompliant," NAM CEO Jay Timmons said. "There is a reason that hundreds of local and state officials and leaders from both parties and from across the country have stood up and spoken out on this critical issue."

In addition to the televised ad campaign, NAM, the Chamber and Business Roundtable joined more than 260 organizations in taking out a full-page ad in Friday's Washington Post urging President Barack Obama to block the new standards, which they say "would devastate a recovering economy."

The Aerospace Industries Association, Aluminum Association, Corn Refiners Association, Independent Petroleum Association of America and National Mining Association were among the many national associations named in the ad.

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