The Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) will challenge a federal Environmental Agency's (EPA) proposed standard that, the NAM says, could result in new restrictions on the discharge of particulate matter. An EPA proposal affecting the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) was published Jan. 17 in the Federal Register. A 90-day comment period on the proposal has begun.
"The proposal is not grounded in sound science, and because the current standard has not even been implemented, changing the standard now would move the goalposts in the middle of the game, creating investment and business uncertainty," claims John Engler, NAM's president. "This is not the time to impose excessive new business burdens on U.S. manufacturers facing unprecedented competition from abroad," he added, repeating NAM's argument that U.S. producers operate under a sizable tax and regulatory disadvantage compared to their major world competitors.
