Inhofe: EPA Boiler MACT Decision Little Consolation for Working Families

Link to Press Release Washington, D.C. - Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today commented on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) announcement that new deadlines for "Boiler MACT" have been set and that the Agency will consider rewriting the rules.

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"EPA's announcement is little consolation to those who will lose their jobs when the rule is ultimately finalized - which I'm willing to wager will be conveniently after the 2012 elections," Senator Inhofe said. "This rulemaking is a clear indication that the Clean Air Act is in dire need of modernization. Congress didn't give EPA the authority to set mandates that can't be achieved or pursue a regulatory agenda that hurts the very people it's supposedly trying to protect. Yet, that is exactly what has happened under the auspices of the 'Boiler MACT' rule. "Despite widespread public opposition, EPA moved forward with standards that were completely divorced from technological realities. Now, with hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs hanging in the balance, EPA is splitting hairs over backroom pledges to the environmental lobby and Obama's second-term aspirations. "The Clean Air Act needs to be updated to undo years of bureaucratic overreach and messy court rulings. It needs to be updated to meet the pollution challenges of today and to stop politicians from using it to pursue a reckless political agenda that hurts working families."