Guest opinion: Bill before Congress would aid EPA, jobs

As Washington’s unemployment rate hovers near the national rate of 8.3 percent, the state more than ever needs to keep and grow the number of good-paying jobs that manufacturing provides. Unfortunately, the tendency in Washington, D.C., for regulatory overreach is making it increasingly difficult for us to do so, here and across the country.

Last March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was rushed to issue rules setting emission limits for boilers used in manufacturing facilities, municipal power plants, hospitals, universities and other facilities.

Because it was hurried by a court-imposed deadline, the EPA admitted that the resulting rules were inadequate, and delayed implementation while the agency reconsidered them.

The rules were re-proposed in November, but the court intervened again, requiring the EPA to finalize the rules without sufficient time to gather needed information.

The methodology the EPA is using to set emission limits is extremely stringent. Some limits approach levels that can barely be detected, and are unachievable. The costs to achieve these limits are estimated at $6 billion to $7 billion for the forest products industry alone.

These are multibillion-dollar decisions that cannot be made overnight. Businesses need to know when investments are made that their facilities will meet compliance standards. The back-and-forth of the EPA proposing and the courts intervening in regulations has left us in a regulatory limbo.

Enactment of legislation pending before Congress, the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011, is the best way to provide the time needed for the development of achievable rules governing boiler emissions.

This is solid, bipartisan legislation that would provide the certainty businesses need to plan investments for compliance, as well as for future growth and for modernizations needed to remain competitive in an increasingly global marketplace.

To be clear, I support clean air and realistic air quality standards. The legislation does not exempt boiler owners from regulation; it simply provides for more affordable, achievable regulations and reasonable compliance timelines.

The EPA has a choice – it can regulate in a way that protects both jobs and the environment, or it can regulate in a way that sacrifices jobs. I encourage Congress to pass the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 to protect U.S. jobs and allow for environmental progress at the same time.