U.S. Chamber Warns EPA: Proposed Coal Ash Rule Could Cost Jobs
Comment Letter Highlights EPA’s Failure to Conduct Required Evaluation of Loss of Employment
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber issued a comment letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today, warning that its proposed rule to regulate “coal combustion residuals” (coal ash) could have severe economic consequences. In the letter, the Chamber notes there is no evidence that EPA, as required under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, has evaluated the potential loss or shifts of employment which may result from the implementation and enforcement of the proposed rule.
“This rule has potentially devastating consequences for America’s construction industry,” said William Kovacs, U.S. Chamber senior vice president of Environment, Technology, and Regulatory Affairs. “The EPA blatantly side-stepped a critical requirement by not performing a study of the potential impact on employment of this regulation. At a time when our country continues to struggle to dig out of the recession, we simply cannot afford this guaranteed job-killer.”
As noted by EPA, coal ash is used in cement, concrete, wallboard, roofing materials, paints and plastics, and in highway projects. EPA’s proposal is to create a unique “beneficial use” safe harbor for coal ash to preserve the environmental benefits associated with its use. But as the Chamber letter points out, the hazardous substance designation will likely deter manufacturers and consumers from using coal ash in any application, thus destroying the beneficial reuse industry.
“Once again, EPA is overstepping its bounds to attack the coal industry, and it is ignoring the adverse employment impacts on the nation’s construction industries,” said Kovacs.
A full copy of the letter is available here: http://www.uschamber.com/issues/comments/2010/nov-19-comments-epa-coal-ash
Earlier this year the Chamber embarked on an effort to highlight the negative impact that overregulation has on job growth. The dramatic increase in burdensome regulation by Congress and the administration in several issue areas—including health care, financial markets, energy, and labor—is causing tremendous uncertainty for business owners around the country. Through a website, www.ThisWayToJobs.com, advertisements, media outreach, and speaking engagements, the Chamber is drawing attention to the collective impact of these broad-based regulations on America’s job creators.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.