Washington, D.C. -- Today, 35 state manufacturing associations joined the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) in asking President Obama not to move forward with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The state associations cautioned the President that this proposal will create more uncertainty for manufacturers and increase compliance costs for each state, which will hurt job growth.
In the letter, the state associations note, "The EPA's proposal to lower the ozone NAAQS will cause unnecessary and severe economic harm. Large swaths of the United States will be designated as non-compliant with the new rule and will be unable to comply any time in the near future, if ever. Lowering the existing 75 ppb standard to the lower end of the proposed range of 60 ppb will almost triple the number of counties designated as being in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA). This designation will lead to new mandates and costs under the CAA, discouraging new businesses from locating in non-attainment areas and restricting the growth of existing businesses."
The Manufacturers Alliance estimates that the new proposal will cause the loss of 7.3 million jobs by 2020. In addition, the new proposal will add $1 trillion in new regulatory costs per year between 2020 and 2030. Now is not the time to increase the cumulative regulatory burden facing our states, which will harm their competitiveness.
According to the letter, "Even the EPA's own estimates suggest that the new standard could add $90 billion per year to already high operating costs faced by manufacturers and other sectors. Our nation simply cannot afford this discretionary new ozone standard which puts U.S. jobs and economic recovery at risk."
To view the letter sent to President Obama, please go here.
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The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing has a presence in every single congressional district providing good, high-paying jobs. For more information about the Manufacturers or to follow us on Shopfloor, Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org.
