Young, GOP colleagues want EPA air-quality final rule reversed

U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) joined 31 fellow Republicans in demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rescind a recently finalized rule under the Clean Air Act that they say will harm domestic manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, construction, mining, and aggregate industries.

Specifically, the senators oppose the EPA’s final rule that reduces the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) under the Clean Air Act, according to a Feb. 28 letter Sen. Young and his colleagues sent to EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

“The reduced PM2.5 standard would place around 200 counties and approximately 40 percent of the U.S. population into nonattainment,” the senators wrote. “Faced with these regulatory challenges, American industries may find it easier to expand abroad. Companies may reasonably find it easier to transition their production overseas rather than seek compliance amid the uncertainty and infeasibility of the EPA’s revised NAAQS.”

Additionally, the EPA’s decision to tighten the standards could result in losses of more than $160 billion in economic activity and put roughly 850,000 jobs at risk, they wrote, citing an Oxford Economics report.

The new standards also come two years before the existing PM2.5 NAAQS would begin a new review by scientific advisors under the Clean Air Act’s statutory process, according to their letter, which notes that the last review in 2020 stated the previous levels were sufficient to protect public health, so an update wasn’t needed.

Sen. Young and his colleagues also pointed out that the economic ramifications of the new NAAQS will far exceed any emissions reductions the EPA hopes to obtain from implementation, and said the new PM2.5 standard indirectly will weaken U.S. supply chains, undermine the affordability and reliability of the electric grid, and leave behind many rural communities that rely on agriculture and forestry production, paper mills, mining, aggregate materials, and other areas of domestic manufacturing to employ their residents and sustain their local economies.

“America’s manufacturing industries and power sector are environmentally cleaner than the global average and continue to adopt cleaner practices while becoming more efficient,” the senators wrote. “However, the Biden administration’s efforts to prioritize emissions reductions and the virtue signaling of privileged climate change activists over American jobs and local communities continue to negatively impact our nation.” 

Among the lawmakers who joined Sen. Young in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), John Hoeven (R-ND), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

The letter is supported by numerous groups, including the American Forest & Paper Association, the National Mining Association, the Pulp and Paperworkers’ Resource Council, the American Chemistry Council, the American Petroleum Institute, the American Wood Council, and the National Stone, Sand, & Gravel Association.