Press Releases

Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement today regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed changes to the Boiler MACT rules for emissions standards:

“I am carefully reviewing the revised Boiler MACT rules and hope that these are an improvement over the previously proposed rules.  It is important to have reasonable regulations, but it is also important to have a reasonable timeline for compliance with regulations.  Insufficient compliance times threaten the future of thousands of jobs in Virginia and nationwide.  One of the main reasons I introduced the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 (H.R. 2250) was to give boiler owners necessary time to comply with workable regulations.  Due to the complexity of these regulations, the three years currently provided, even with a possible one year extension, are not enough for many businesses.

“While many think this legislation applies to only big businesses, the Boiler MACT rules would also impact hospitals, universities and even elementary schools – approximately 200,000 boilers nationwide.  While some boiler owners may choose to convert to natural gas, huge parts of the United States, including the mountains of Southwest Virginia, do not have sufficient access to natural gas pipelines to adequately power industrial boilers. If every business, hospital, university, or school that is currently using coal has to make a major switch in technology or fuel in a three year period, the cost to the American public will be staggering.

“H.R. 2250 passed the House with bipartisan support.  Similar legislation in the Senate has also garnered the support of 39 members from both sides of the aisle.  I urge the Senate to immediately pass this common sense regulatory fix in order protect valuable American jobs. This legislative solution is the best way to guarantee that businesses have time to comply with the Boiler MACT rules.”

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