The Hill (10/9, Cama) reports the Environmental Protection Agency sent potential changes for ground-level ozone standards to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday. Officials in the White House stopped the EPA’s attempt to lower the standards three years ago, but “this time around” a NAM study shows that a rule of 60 parts-per-billion “could be the most expensive regulation ever.” The EPA will propose a new regulation by December as per a court order, but the White House could extend the timeframe as it reviews the regulations. The lower standards “could hurt energy-intensive industries that rely on fossil fuels.”
The Washington Examiner (10/9) reports that industry officials have fought the ozone proposal in the past, “saying it has the potential to become one of the agency’s costliest regulations,” a point illustrated by a NAM study finding the regulations will reduce gross domestic product by $3.4 trillion between 2017 and 2040. Industry officials also point out that the new standards will “force factories, power plants, and other larger industrial emitters to close,” which explains why the battle surrounding the rule has been “intense” over the last five years.
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