Howard Feldman's remarks at press conference call on Ozone ad campaign
Press conference call on Ozone ad campaign
Howard Feldman, senior director of regulatory and scientific affairs
Thursday, May 14th, 2015
Opening statement, as prepared for delivery
Good afternoon, and thanks for joining our call.
Today, API is launching a major new television, radio, print, and online advertising campaign that will start inside the beltway tomorrow.
The ads urge the administration to keep the current ozone standards.
The current standards – set in 2008 – are the strictest ever imposed. They have also yet to be fully implemented.
Safeguarding public health is a goal we all share, and peer reviewed science confirms that the current standards are protecting public health and the environment.
The nation’s air is getting cleaner. Air quality will continue to improve as we implement the existing standards.
Further tightening of the standards wouldn’t necessarily improve air quality any faster, but it could significantly impact U.S. jobs and the economy.
A new standard at 65 or 70 parts per billion could be the costliest regulation ever imposed on the American public.
A lower standard could, for little or no health benefit, significantly constrain our nation’s economy and eliminate thousands of jobs.
According to a report by NERA Economic Consulting, lowering the standard to 60 ppb, which the EPA is taking comment on and could promulgate, could cost our economy $270 billion per year and place millions of jobs at risk.
Even at a standard of 65 parts per billion, 45 out of the lower 48 states would have areas that could be out of compliance.
As proposed, the new standard could impose unachievable emission reduction requirements on virtually every part of the nation, including rural and undeveloped areas.
Even pristine areas with no industrial activity such as national parks could be out of attainment.
In fact, the proposed standard seeks to achieve ozone levels that approach or are even lower than naturally occurring levels, in some areas, which could effectively prohibit new economic activity.
States would have to place new restrictions on businesses of all sizes and add additional bureaucratic red tape to the permitting process for public works projects.
These new rules could prevent communities from improving their infrastructure such as highways or waste treatment facilities.
That would be the real-world impact of this proposed rule.
If President Obama is serious about lifting up the middle class and closing the income inequality gap, the last thing his administration should do is threaten jobs and our energy and manufacturing renaissance with unnecessary new regulations.
In closing, The EPA reports ozone levels are down 18 percent just since 2000.
The current rules are the strictest ever, and they’re working, safeguarding public health – a goal we all share.
Our economy’s bigger, our population is bigger, we use more energy -- still our air quality has improved.
The current ozone rules are working, we should finish implementing them.
You can see our news ads at api [dot] org.
Thank you. And now I’d be happy to take your questions.