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H.R. 2250 (112th): EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011
- Introduced:
- Jun 21, 2011 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
- Sponsor:
- Rep. Morgan Griffith [R-VA9]
- Status:
- Died (Passed House)
The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.
- Full Title
To provide additional time for the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to issue achievable standards for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers, process heaters, and incinerators, and for other purposes.
- Summary
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No summaries available.
- Text
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Last updated Oct 18, 2011.
10 pages
- Primary Source
-
View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)
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- Citation
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Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
10/13/2011--Passed House amended.
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 26, 2011.
The summary of that version is repeated here.) EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 - Provides that the following rules shall have no force or effect and shall be treated as though they had never taken effect:
(1) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters;
(2) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers;
(3) the Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units; and
(4) Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That are Solid Waste. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in place of such rules, to promulgate and finalize on the date that is 15 months after the date of the enactment of this Act regulations for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator units subject to such rules, that:
(1) establish maximum achievable control technology standards, performance standards, and other requirements for hazardous air pollutants or solid waste combustion under the Clean Air Act; and
(2) identify non-hazardous secondary materials that, when used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units of such boilers, heaters, or incinerator units, are solid waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for purposes of determining the extent to which such combustion units are required to meet emission standards for such pollutants under such Act. Requires the Administrator to establish a date for compliance with standards and requirements under such regulations, which shall be no earlier than five years after such a regulation's effective date, after considering compliance costs, non-air quality health and environmental impacts and energy requirements, the feasibility of implementation, the availability of equipment, suppliers, and labor, and potential net employment impacts.
Treats the date on which the Administrator proposes such a regulation establishing an emission standard as the proposal date for purposes of applying the definition of a "new source" to hazardous air pollutants requirements or of a "new solid waste incineration unit" to solid waste combustion requirements under the Clean Air Act. Requires the Administrator, in promulgating such regulations, to:
(1) adopt the definitions of "commercial and industrial solid waste incineration unit," "commercial and industrial waste," and "contained gaseous material" in the rule entitled Standards for Performance of New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units;
(2) identify non-hazardous secondary material to be solid waste only if the material meets such definitions;
(3) ensure that emissions standards for existing and new sources can be met under actual operating conditions consistently and concurrently with emission standards for all other air pollutants regulated by the rule for the source category, taking into account variability in actual source performance, source design, fuels, inputs, controls, ability to measure the pollutant emissions, and operating conditions; and
(4) impose the least burdensome regulatory alternative.
House Republican Conference Summary
The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/112/1/hr2250.
Background
According to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the EPA’s new Boiler MACT rules are exceedingly complex and unduly onerous. Together, these four rules span 276 pages and impose control and monitoring standards for 11 subcategories of boilers and process heaters that vary by design and fuel type. These rules require boiler owners to conduct emissions testing and comply with complex control standards. There are approximately 200,000 boilers nationwide. Hospitals, factories, universities, farms, and thousands of major American employers will be directly impacted by these rules.
Under these new Boiler MACT rules, many traditional alternative fuels – such as biomass, scrap tires, used oil, and other materials – may be deemed “solid waste” under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. This means that boilers, cement kilns, industrial furnaces and other combustion units that burn those materials will henceforth be required to meet even more rigid emissions requirements, jeopardizing many highly successful national recycling programs.
EPA officials have estimated that the capital cost of implementing these rules will be $9.5 billion, but a recent study prepared by IHS Global Insight puts the figure at $20 billion. The precise cost of these stringent rules may still be unknown, but they will undoubtedly impose significant new regulatory costs on employers and small businesses that could lead to factory closures and job losses. A study by the American Forest and Paper Association concluded that the Boiler MACT rules put more than 20,000 forest industry jobs at risk – 18 percent of the entire workforce at U.S. pulp and paper mills.
The EPA Regulatory Relief Act would alleviate the excessive regulatory burden placed on employers by the EPA’s Boiler MACT rules by replacing them with sensible, achievable rules that do not destroy jobs.
Summary
H.R. 2250 would provide a legislative stay of four interrelated Environmental Protection Agency rules, commonly referred to as the “Boiler MACT rules,” that govern emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from approximately 200,000 boilers and incinerators nationwide. These rules are:
- National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters;
- National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers;
- Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units; and
- Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That Are Solid Waste.
The bill would also provide for the replacement of the Boiler MACT rules. Specifically, H.R. 2250 would require the Administrator of the EPA to promulgate, 15 months from the date of enactment, new regulations for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator units. These new rules must:
- Establish maximum achievable control technology standards, performance standards, and other requirements for hazardous air pollutants or solid waste combustion under the Clean Air Act; and
- Identify non-hazardous secondary materials that, when used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units of such boilers, heaters, or incinerator units, are solid waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for purposes of determining the extent to which such combustion units are required to meet emission standards for such pollutants under such Act.
The bill would extend the compliance period for employers for at least five years, based on real world considerations. Specifically, H.R. 2250 would require the EPA Administrator to establish compliance dates for these standards after considering compliance costs, non-air quality health and environmental impacts and energy requirements, the feasibility of implementation, the availability of equipment, suppliers, and labor, and potential net employment impacts.
The bill would also set forth guidelines for such rules and regulations, including requiring the Administrator to:
- Ensure that emissions standards for existing and new sources can be met under actual operating conditions consistently and concurrently with emission standards for all other air pollutants regulated by the rule for the source category; and
- Impose the least burdensome regulatory alternative for each regulation promulgated.
Cost
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that implementing H.R. 2250 would have a net cost of $1 million over the next five years. Enacting this legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:
United States Code
The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)
- Title 42: THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
- Chapter 82: SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL
- Subchapter I: GENERAL PROVISIONS
- Section 6901: Congressional findings
- Chapter 85: AIR POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
- Subchapter I: PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES
- Part A: Air Quality and Emission Limitations
- Section 7401: Congressional findings and declaration of purpose
- Section 7412: Hazardous air pollutants
- Section 7429: Solid waste combustion