Michaud Reacts to EPA's Boiler MACT Rules

Statement

Today, Congressman Mike Michaud reacted to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) release of its final boiler maximum achievable control technology (MACT), incinerator, and non-hazardous secondary materials rules. Michaud has been working on this issue for years and was part of a bipartisan effort in the House and Senate that helped move EPA to reconsider their initial rules that were not only costly to industry, but also to Maine jobs in the forest products industry.

"This has been a drawn-out process, but I appreciate that the EPA has taken all of the additional public comments into account. While they are still being reviewed, I'm hopeful these new rules balance critical public health concerns with the need to make them achievable and affordable for businesses in Maine and throughout the country," said Michaud.

Michaud is a cosponsor of the "EPA Regulatory Relief Act" (H.R. 2250), which was designed to improve regulations that could adversely impact biomass and paper industries like those in Maine. The bill also sets up realistic emission standards for biomass boilers and provides facilities a reasonable time to comply with them. H.R. 2250 passed the House on October 13th, 2011 but was never considered in the Senate.

Source