The American Chemistry Council (ACC) released the following statement in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) finalization of the fine particulate matter (PM) 2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS):
"ACC is disappointed that EPA continues to make permitting for important projects harder and more challenging through its revised standards for fine particulate matter under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). As we continue to review the rule, we are significantly concerned about the EPA’s choice to intentionally ignore costs and create a more stringent annual NAAQS, particularly in a process outside of the standard Clean Air Act review period.
"As ACC and its industry partners have highlighted in prior comments, EPA’s revised standard will only serve to exacerbate current permitting gridlock issues at a time when domestic economic performance is critical to national interests. These impacts will hinder our nation’s ability to build new infrastructure, expand manufacturing and grow our economy.
"ACC is also concerned about EPA’s lack of transparency and the flawed factual analyses that informed its rulemaking, as we believe the Agency has dramatically underestimated the impact of tighter standards by only partially estimating the geographic extent and costs of tightening the standards. Ultimately, EPA’s choice to revise existing standards without providing adequate implementation time means that the Agency may seriously jeopardize current and future projects that would otherwise bring important economic benefits to our nation."
