Alexander: EPA boiler rule can’t be fixed without Congress

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said Wednesday that EPA’s controversial rule to cut airborne toxins from industrial boilers — which the agency has delayed while it gathers more input — can’t be adequately changed without Congress stepping in.

“I think that rule belongs on another planet somewhere,” Alexander said at an Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on the Clean Air Act.

“I don’t believe it can be fixed by the Environmental Protection Agency without some congressional action,” he said.

Alexander also questioned whether EPA has the legal authority to make needed changes to a key portion of the rule, and whether the agency has the time to fix the rule, which was long delayed and promulgated under a court order.

Alexander is seen as a centrist on several Clean Air Act issues, but for months has expressed major concerns about constraints facing EPA on the rule.

A number of industry groups and House Republicans are also targeting the rule, one of several they argue should be softened, delayed or scuttled.

This post was updated at 11:11 a.m.