Ed Whitfield: “The gentleman's amendment would add a new section to H.R. 2250 directing the administrator to go on and implement the…”

“The gentleman's amendment would add a new section to H.R. 2250 directing the administrator to go on and implement the current boiler sector rules if emissions at industrial facilities are causing respiratory and cardiovascular illness and death, including heart attacks, asthma attacks, and bronchitis. I would like, first of all, to mention that over the last 15 or 20 years, we've made remarkable progress in cleaning up the air. For example, ozone has been reduced by 14 percent, particulate matter by 31 percent, lead by 78 percent, nitrogen dioxide by 35 percent, carbon monoxide by 68 percent, sulfur dioxide by 59 percent. This amendment targets specific health issues, respiratory and cardiovascular illness and death, and our bill, I would say, does direct that the EPA protect public health, jobs, and the economy. And that's what our legislation is all about--a more balanced approach. I find it interesting that the Boiler MACT is all about regulating hazardous air pollutants, but yet, when EPA did their analysis of the benefits of the Boiler MACT rule, they did not include any benefit from reduction of hazardous air pollutants, and mercury, in particular. They indicated that all of the health benefits would be as a result of a reduction of particulate matter. So the whole purpose of Boiler MACT is to deal with hazardous air pollutants. EPA has decided there was no real benefit from the reduction there, but it's all from particulate matter.…”