Bipartisan members of the U.S. Senate Committee
on Environment and Public Works have introduced
S. 1392, the
EPA
Regulatory Relief Act of 2011. The bill is
a companion of the House version of the EPA
Regulatory Relief Act of 2011, H.R. 2250, and
both aim to protect hundreds of thousands of
jobs by providing the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) with additional time to
reconsider and improve proposed boiler rules.
In addition, this will extend the time period
for industries to comply with these
rules.
The proposal, which directs the EPA to develop achievable
standards affecting non-utility boilers and
incinerators, and grants additional time for
compliance with the rules, was offered in
response to an influx of urgent calls from
small and large employers. Economic analyses
have projected that compliance with the rules
as currently proposed could cost in excess of
$14 billion, which puts more than 200,000 jobs
at risk.
As part of a filing with the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the EPA
has set a schedule for issuing updated and
modified air toxics standards for boilers and
certain solid waste incinerators. To ensure
that the agency’s standards are based on the
best available data and the public is given
ample opportunity to provide additional input
and information, the agency will propose
standards to be reconsidered by the end of
October 2011 and issue final standards by the
end of April 2012.
The House Energy and Commerce
Committee is expected to take up its version of
the bill sometime this fall so that it can be
brought to a floor vote and sent to the
president for enactment by the end of this
year.
To view further information, including
the full text of the EPA Regulatory Relief Act
of 2011, as well as detailed information
regarding the EPA’s currently proposed rules
and timeline for reconsideration and issuance
of new boiler rules, visit ASA’s legislative website at
www.TakingTheHill.com.
