West Virginia’s two senators are pressing EPA for major changes to a recent proposal that would tighten air toxics standards for lime manufacturing plants.
In a letter released Friday, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican, and her Democratic colleague, Sen. Joe Manchin, said the supplemental proposal released earlier this year would have “destructive economic consequences” that would still leave some plants at risk of shutting down while yielding little in the way of environmental benefits.
Along with a host of technical changes, the duo urged adoption of “regulatory flexibility alternatives” identified by a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel and ensure that the final version of the regulations minimize the burden “on sources that already meet standards with an ample margin of safety that are protective of both public health and the environment.”
Manchin chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Capito is the ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
