Industry calls for stay of EPA boiler rules

A coalition of industry groups on Wednesday urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to put air emissions regulations for industrial boilers on hold while the agency reconsiders the rules.

The industry groups — including the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Petroleum Institute and the American Chemistry Council — say companies should not be required to comply with the regulations until after the reconsideration period is complete.

“EPA is reconsidering major portions of these rules, and businesses should not be asked to comply until final requirements are clear,” American Chemistry Council President Cal Dooley said in a statement. “Otherwise, businesses could spend millions, if not billions, to comply with rules that may change.”

EPA issued its final boiler regulations in February under a court-ordered deadline. The rules require that boilers and incinerators install “maximum achievable control technology” to reduce harmful emissions. The agency says the regulations will prevents thousands of deaths and heart attacks at a reasonable cost to industry.

The boiler regulations have come under fire from Republicans and some Democrats, who say they will impose major costs on industry — one of a series of attacks on EPA regulations in recent months.

EPA revised its draft standards, issued last year, after industry groups said the regulations were unworkable. Since the final rules differ so much from the draft rules, EPA opened up a reconsideration period in which the public can comment on and review the final standards.

In a petition for an administrative stay on the regulations, the industry groups say the agency should halt requirements that companies comply with the boiler rules during this reconsideration period.

“A stay will give manufacturers the certainty they need,” Alicia Meads, director of energy and resources policy at the National Association of Manufacturers, told reporters Wednesday. “Facilities won’t have to work on complying with the new regulations while the reconsideration process is going on.”

Meads said the reconsideration period could last as long as a year.