Rhetoric VS. Reality
Policy-makers are talking a lot about energy and energy policy. What follows are some of the most frequently heard claims and proposals, along with realities that need to be considered when evaluating these claims.
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Washington Needs to Give Regulation a Break
May 14, 2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed stricter air standards for ozone, commonly referred to as smog, which experts say could drive 77,000 more jobs away from Tennessee by 2020 if enacted at the end of October.
No-one questions the need for a healthy environment, but what EPA leaders are not saying is that they already tightened these air restrictions two years ago. Businesses and local communities are just completing plans to meet those requirements and now the agency has arbitrarily decided to set a new even stricter proposed standard that may be impossible to attain. As a small business owner myself, I am pushed daily to keep my company profitable. The cost of complying with this proposed rule will make my state and my livelihood even less competitive as we pay billions of dollars in compliance costs. The EPA projects that 10 counties across Tennessee will be labeled as non-attainment under the new rule – this includes Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville. As a result, there would be serious restrictions on new construction, the potential loss of highway funding and lost economic output of more than $6 billion according to recent studies. Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA is tasked with reviewing air standards every five years. This allows for reasonable adjustments to standards and gives the private and public sector enough time to adjust to changes. It is unclear why the sudden switch to a two-year review cycle without any direction from Congress. In addition, this new rule has been proposed using the same data used for the 2008 changes. In other words, the agency just changed its mind. That’s not good policy.
This comes at a time when the state Department of Labor has said we continue to face nearly ten percent unemployment and the loss of thousands of jobs in the business sectors most likely to be affected by the new regulations.
I encourage you to contact your Federal Representative in regards to this very important issue. And join us, so together we can stop the EPA from moving forward on this harmfull regulation.
Sincerely,
Tonya Jones
Chairman