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Press Release Published: Dec 1, 2011

Oversight Chairman Issa Calls on Obama Administration to Return Utility MACT Regulation to EPA to Complete Assessment of Impact on Jobs

Rushed Rulemaking Omitted Assessment of Impact on Job Creation and Grid Reliability

(WASHINGTON)—Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) today called on the Obama Administration’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to return the proposed Utility MACT rule to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and require a more complete assessment of its impact on job creation. EPA is slated to issue the final Utility MACT rule on December 16 under a consent decree.

“The Committee is not satisfied that EPA has conducted a good faith analysis of the employment impact of the rule,” the letter signed by Chairman Issa and Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending Subcommittee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said.

They also said that EPA Deputy Administrator Bob Perciasepe testified that EPA’s jobs analysis on the rule failed to look at the impact that higher energy prices would have on employment. A study by National Economic Research Associates found that the rule could result in the loss of as many of 186,000 jobs per year.

The letter also pointed out that the proposed rule could have significant impacts on national energy grid reliability, a point echoed in an amicus brief filed by 25 Democratic and Republican state attorneys general.

“EPA’s steadfast refusal to ascertain the impact its regulatory actions will have on grid reliability is troubling,” the letter said. “Moreover, evidence suggests that early in the rulemaking process, career staff at EPA did recognize the relationship between the regulations and grid reliability, including a discussion of it in drafts of the proposed rule.”

A copy of the letter is available here. Links to previous Committee hearings on the issue are here and here.

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Related Documents
Name Document
Rep. Issa's letter to Rep. Jordan