Senators introduce EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011

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.