On the recordMarch 3, 2016
Today I rise to voice my support for H.R. 4557, the BRICK Act. I want to tell a story about a small company in my hometown of Selma, Alabama. Henry Brick Company has been a family-owned business since 1945, providing jobs and economic support to the Black Belt of Alabama. In 2003, the EPA passed a rule requiring Henry Brick Company, along with all other brick and structural clay manufacturers, to reduce their air pollutant emissions. In order to meet these new regulations by 2006, Henry Brick Company of Selma, Alabama, spent $1.5 million to come into compliance with the rule. This was a major financial burden for this small company, but Henry Brick Company is a good corporate citizen and understands the importance of protecting our environment. However, 1 year after they spent $1.5 million, the courts vacated the EPA's 2003 regulation. So the EPA went back to the drawing board to create a new rule, but they did not give these brick companies credit for emission reductions achieved under the previous rule. On the contrary, in their new rule, the EPA actually used the emission reductions achieved under the vacated rule as a baseline for further reduction requirements. Now, Henry Brick Company faces a new brick and clay manufacturing rule with even stricter emissions requirements and must come into compliance by December 2018.…
