A proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to change National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for particulate matter (PM) could impact the economy, a group of nearly 90 trade groups and businesses said.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) and others urged the EPA to walk back what it calls unnecessary proposals to reconsider and tighten PM NAAQS standards in a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
“The EPA’s current regulations are working, air quality continues to improve, and the United States continues to reduce emissions,” the coalition wrote. “Implementation of unprecedented PM standards could significantly damage the economy by imposing unachievable emissions limits and reduction targets on many parts of our country, including rural and undeveloped areas.”
In 2020, the group said, the EPA reaffirmed the current PM standards. Since then, air quality has improved, decreasing 14 percent over the last decade.
The organizations said the EPA’s new proposal would have significant consequences in their communities, including additional compliance burdens that would limit the ability of small businesses to create new jobs.
“These standards add red tape to companies seeking to grow, even in areas currently in attainment, especially given how many areas will be in non-attainment with a new, stricter standard,” the organizations wrote. “Increased costs associated with restrictive and expensive permit requirements could likely deter companies from siting new facilities in a nonattainment area, making the United States a less attractive place to do business and risking shipping jobs overseas.”
The letter’s signers included API Pennsylvania, Associated Pennsylvania Constructors, the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association, Pennsylvania Builders Association, Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council, Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association, Pennsylvania Forest Products Association, Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association, Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers, Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association and Pennsylvania Petroleum Association.