House committee holds hearing to review overreach of EPA

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee, led by Sen. Lamar Smith (R-TX), hosted a hearing last week to review the absence of scientific and technical justification for some U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.

Specifically, the hearing examined the regulations’ impact on Americans.

The list of witnesses at the hearing included Bill Kovacs, senior vice president, Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Bob Kerr, president of Kerr Environmental Services Corporation; Dr. Jerome A. Paulsen, the Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics chairman for the academy’s Environmental Health Executive Committee; and Ross Eisenberg, vice president of Energy and Resources Policy at the National Association of Manufacturers.

Witnesses focused their attention on three specific EPA proposals: the Clean Power Plan; the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Ozone; and the highly controversial Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation, also called the Clean Water Rule.

“These rules will cost billions of dollars, place a heavy burden on American families and diminish the competitiveness of American industry around the world,” Smith said. “The so-called Clean Power Plan is a power grab that will force states to reach arbitrary and often impossible targets for carbon emissions. The EPA also seeks to impose stricter ozone standards that analysis conducted by EPA shows would cost at least $15 billion annually. Once again, these costs come with few benefits.”

The witnesses testified that the EPA rules will have significant effects on Americans, both from a legal and economic standpoint, particularly the release of the final WOTUS rule, which equates to a huge increase of regulatory power for the EPA.

“Last week, the EPA submitted its final rule to define the Waters of the United States,” Smith continued. “As many had predicted, EPA has claimed unprecedented jurisdiction over many different kinds of water, including those that temporarily result from a ‘drizzle’ and areas that are not always filled with water. Under this regulatory regime, Americans will be subject to required permits and the constant threat of government intervention. The onslaught of EPA regulations continues.”