Businesses, Trade Groups Warn that EPA’s PM NAAQS Proposal “Could Significantly Damage the Economy"

WASHINGTON, September 13, 2023 — The American Petroleum Institute (API) today joined with nearly 90 other trade groups and local businesses spanning the economy in urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to walk back its unnecessary proposal to reconsider and tighten the recently promulgated National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM).

“The EPA’s current regulations are working, air quality continues to improve, and the United States continues to reduce emissions,” the coalition wrote in a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan. “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.”

EPA reaffirmed the current PM standards in 2020 and since then there has been no new science that would suggest the need for more stringent regulations. Air quality has improved under the current standards – over the last decade, there has been a 14% decrease in national average PM concentrations.

The organizations detailed the significant consequences that EPA’s proposal could have in their communities, including additional compliance burdens that risk limiting the ability of small businesses to expand and 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 signers include state and local business and trade groups representing industries across the economy, including agriculture, energy, home builders, manufacturing and transportation.

Click here to view the letter.

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State and Local Businesse Letter to EPA on PM NAAQS

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