E-Newsletter

EPA Releases New, Revised Boiler MACT Rules

Late last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new, revised Boiler MACT rules for emissions standards.  I am carefully reviewing the 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 reasonable compliance timelines.  Short compliance time requirements threaten the future of thousands of jobs in Virginia and nationwide. While many think this legislation applies to only big businesses, the Boiler MACT rules also impact hospitals, universities, and even elementary schools – approximately 200,000 boilers nationwide.  While some boiler owners may be able to choose to convert to natural gas, huge parts of the United States, including the mountains of Southwest Virginia, do not have sufficient access to large natural gas pipelines to adequately power industrial boilers.

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. H.R. 2250 passed the House with bipartisan support.  Similar legislation in the Senate has garnered the support of a majority of Republicans and 12 Democrat members. If the Senate leadership allows this bill to come up for a fair vote, I believe it will pass. 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.

Farm Dust Equals Fairy Dust?
 
Regulatory overreach isn’t just affecting coal mines and manufacturers. Farm dust took center stage at a House Energy and Commerce Committee markup last week. The Committee voted to approve the bipartisan Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011 (H.R. 1633), which would prevent the EPA from changing current standards on farm dust for one year and exempts “nuisance dust” from federal regulation when already regulated under state or local law. 

The EPA has said that they will not go forward with stricter regulations on farm dust at this time.  However, that does not guarantee that they will not push for more regulations in the future.  Some of my Democratic colleagues have said that this bill is unnecessary – going as far as comparing this to regulating fairy dust.  If they are so certain that the EPA will not regulate farm dust, then why did the Democrats debate this bill for nearly four hours and offer seven amendments to a bill they claimed would have no impact?

Their strong objection leads me to believe that in the near future the EPA may possibly attempt to tighten regulations on farm dust.  Currently the EPA regulates farm dust at levels of 10 micrometers in diameter or smaller.  A micrometer is a millionth of a meter.  To put that into perspective, the dot of the “i” in a typical newspaper is roughly 400 micrometers.

Oftentimes it seems that the EPA is living in an alternate universe.  For farmers and those in rural communities, potential federal regulations on farm dust are much more than jokes about fairy dust. They would have adverse, real world impacts resulting in potential job losses and increased costs in this world and this country.  America’s farmers don’t need more uncertainty about future regulations. I hope new farm dust regulations will not be the next chapter in the EPA rule book. 

Why not “Made in the USA”?

Look on the label on your shirt or the sticker under your kitchen table. More goods are being manufactured elsewhere to be sold in the United States.  Last week, I received a small bust of Thomas Jefferson. The sticker on the bottom read “Made in China.” Even a bust of our own Thomas Jefferson, America’s third president, is not manufactured in the United States.  That is of great concern. I suspect that making this bust from composite plastic materials may not be possible in the United States.  It could be that existing regulations, or the fear of new regulations, are keeping some clever business in Virginia from making busts of Thomas Jefferson.

For example, there are moves afoot to increase regulations on styrene, a component used in the manufacturing of certain plastics, packaging, pipes, and other commonly used products. New regulations could potentially drive styrene producers, like Strongwell in Bristol, out of the United States.  If they go, the 300 people who work there will be added to the unemployment list. While we would still continue to use these products, they would be imported – not made in the United States. We need to take a close look at what increased regulations are doing to America’s competitiveness. We need more “Made in the USA” products, not jobs exported overseas. 

As always, if you have concerns or comments or wish to inquire about legislative issues, feel free to contact my offices. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.