Archived Content

Business Roundtable Details Economic Impact of New Ozone Regulations in Letter to White House

Washington – Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of major U.S. companies, today cautioned the Obama Administration against the economic harm that would result from enacting the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed new ozone standards – “the single most expensive environmental regulation ever imposed on the U.S. economy.”

Business Roundtable’s objections to the EPA’s proposed regulations came in a letter to White House Chief of Staff William Daley from Andrew N. Liveris, Chairman and CEO of The Dow Chemical Company, who chairs Business Roundtable’s Regulatory Reform Working Group.

EPA delivered its draft final rule to reduce ozone standards on July 11 to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

“If finalized, EPA’s ozone rule … threatens to seriously impede economic expansion by classifying hundreds of counties across the United States as non-attainment for ozone for the first time,” wrote Liveris, “The impact will be felt immediately.”

In the letter to Daley, Liveris outlined the consequences of counties falling into non-attainment status, which would trigger a “cascade of federal and state control measures.” New and expanding businesses would be required to obtain emission offsets and install controls, including in many cases “all known control measures.”

“This uncertainty and the difficulty of obtaining emission offsets and permits will discourage capital investment and make these counties less competitive,” Liveris wrote. “Instead of creating jobs, these counties risk losing jobs when businesses respond to the higher costs and uncertainty by closing marginal facilities and siting new facilities elsewhere, including outside the U.S.”

The current National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone is 0.075 ppm, established as recently as 2008. EPA has considered lowering the standard to 0.060-0.070 ppm. 

EPA has estimated that the lower emissions mandates would cost between $20 billion and $90 billion annually, and, as the letter noted, EPA’s regulatory impact analysis concedes that those costs may be understated.

Liveris reminded Daley that the EPA has acknowledged that its current rulemaking is discretionary; under law, the EPA’s next scheduled standard ozone review would take place in 2013. In addition, the current rulemaking preempts the scientific review now be conducted by an EPA-appointed panel.

“The government’s limited resources are better spent toward finalizing a strong record for the upcoming 2013 standard review rather than litigating an interim standard in the meantime,” the letter concluded. “We respectfully urge the Administration to let this panel complete its work and recommend in 2013 whether the ozone standard should be changed.”

We use cookies to give you the best experience when using our website. You can click “Accept” if you agree to allow us to place cookies. For more information, please see our Cookie Notice.