The Environmental Protection Agency’s final ozone regulation moved to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on August 28. As a result of a court order, the final rule must be released no later than October 1, leaving the OMB a historically short period of time to review the regulation and its possible impacts and hear from stakeholders.
In the latest Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, NAM members indicated how they view the impending stricter standards. More than 80 percent of respondents say they are concerned that this proposed regulation will increase costs for energy, equipment, and other inputs.
Because of investments and innovation, manufacturers are reducing emissions and slashing ozone levels. The NAM continues to highlight the difficulties of meeting a stricter standard with advertisements and direct outreach to lawmakers at all levels.
“The real shame is that the ozone reductions we continue to see are happening in large part due to the hard work of manufacturers whose production, jobs, and livelihood are threatened by this proposal,” said NAM Vice President of Energy and Resources Policy Ross Eisenberg. “Ozone levels have dropped by nearly 20 percent since 2000, and progress will continue for the next decade and beyond, but by proposing more stringent federal standards now, the Administration is pushing beyond what is technologically possible in many parts of the country.”
Specific NAM polling done in Pennsylvania and Ohio finds more than two-thirds of respondents already think they have good-to-excellent air quality; in Colorado, Virginia and New Mexico, it’s more than three-quarters of those polled.
Congressional members, governors, mayors, and state legislators from both sides of the political aisle are reaching out to the White House asking for restraint, something rarely seen in today’s political environment. Manufacturers stand in support of these representatives who understand our need for balanced regulations, and oppose this rule and urge the Obama Administration to retain the existing ozone standard.
The NAM released a new round of television and print ads this week in opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed ozone regulation. As manufacturers await a final rule, likely to be released on October 1, the NAM is using the ads to underscore the new ozone standard’s widespread disapproval. One of two new television ads highlights the progress manufacturers have made in lowering ozone-forming emissions, leading the nation to a more than 30 percent reduction in ozone levels since 1980, and how President Obama recently acknowledged that we “solved” this problem. The second television ad highlights the broad, bipartisan, and nationwide opposition to a new ozone standard.
Throughout this rulemaking process, manufacturers have been encouraged by the outreach from lawmakers at the local, state, and national levels, and both political parties to the Obama Administration, asking for a more reasonable approach to its ozone regulations. To further highlight the concerns of manufacturers on this issue, the NAM sponsored an event on energy and climate with The Wall Street Journal featuring the newspaper’s Amy Harder, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, and White House Senior Advisor Brian Deese. NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons opened the event, and manufacturers were able to ask speakers questions on the proposed rule.
Manufacturers depend on balanced policies to remain competitive in a global economy, and to that end, we need lawmakers to step up and push back when regulations go too far. Regardless of the outcome with the final ozone rule, the NAM will continue working with elected officials and other leaders to achieve more commonsense regulatory policies.
Go to www.nam.org/ozone to watch the ads and for more information.
Update provided by the National Association of Manufacturers.