The National Association of Manufacturers, American Frozen Food Institute, American Petroleum Institute and other industry groups have appealed to the US Supreme Court to stop the EPA’s greenhouse gas emissions rules, which they say are too costly and threaten manufacturers’ global competitiveness.
A federal appeals court last June upheld the EPA’s limits on GHG emissions from car tailpipes, factories and power plants. In its ruling, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals in Washington said that the EPA’s interpretation of the Clean Air Act was “unambiguously correct,” and that its finding that these emissions posed a public health risk is “neither arbitrary nor capricious.”
According to NAM president and CEO Jay Timmons, the regulations will hurt the economy and kill jobs. Speaking on behalf of the coalition that filed the appeal, Timmons says the emissions limits could force new permitting requirements for more than 6 million stationary sources, including 200,000 manufacturing facilities, 37,000 farms and millions of universities, schools and hospitals.
The members of the coalition include the American Chemistry Council, American Frozen Food Institute, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, American Iron and Steel Institute, American Petroleum Institute, Brick Industry Association, Clean Air Implementation Project, Corn Refiners Association, Glass Association of North America, Independent Petroleum Association of America, Indiana Cast Metals Association, Michigan Manufacturers Association, Mississippi Manufacturers Association, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Manufacturers, National Federation of Independent Business, National Oilseed Processors Association, North American Die Casting Association, Portland Cement Association, Specialty Steel Industry of North America, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Western States Petroleum Association, West Virginia Manufacturers Association and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.
In March, the NAM filed a lawsuit in the US Court of Appeals challenging EPA rules, issued in December, that would lower the annual soot exposure standard from 15 to 12 micrograms per cubic meter. NAM called the regulations economically burdensome, and the association was backed by Republicans, who said factories, power plants, diesel vehicles and ships would all be harmed by the rules.
