Last week the Environmental Protection Agency announced a new rule designed to substantially reduce the level of air pollution known as particulate matter.
In so doing, the agency was updating national air quality standards with reference to the negative impact of particulate matter exposure.
In announcing the action, Michael Regan, EPA Administer, characterized the rule as a “critical step forward that will better protect workers, families, and communities from the dangerous and costly impacts of fine particle pollution.”
Added Regan: “The science is clear, soot pollution is one of the most dangerous forms of air pollution, and it’s linked to a range of serious and potentially deadly illnesses, including asthma and heart attacks.”
Particulate matter pollution typically comes from such sources as power plants, construction sites, and cars. An additional source of particulate matter is found in wildfire smoke.
Projects that emanate particulate matter are now going to be reduced to 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air, down from the previous 12 micrograms per cubic meter.
The EPA action has been scorned by a number of industry groups, including the American Forest & Paper Association and the American Wood Council.
In a previous joint letter to President Biden, those groups said the rule “threatens U.S. competitiveness and modernization projects in the U.S. paper and wood products industry and in other manufacturing sectors across our country.”
Now Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Republican Chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has weighed in on the topic in a House hearing on February 15.
Rodgers said the new rule “goes well beyond the original Congressional intent first laid out in the Clean Air Act, which stated goal was to promote ‘reasonable actions’ to limit or reduce emissions and pollution.”
Rodgers further charged that the “process to develop this latest rule was rushed, lacked transparency, and failed to incorporate feedback from stakeholders across the country who will be impacted the hardest.”
An analysis of the EPA rule just published by the Washington-based Institute for Energy Research notes that states and counties will now be tasked with reducing particulate matter from such sources as power plants and industrial sites.
“If states do not comply by 2032, penalties could be levied,” warned the report.
By Garry Boulard
