ISSUE BRIEF: Stop EPA’s Over-Regulating Rural Air Quality
Make EPA Stop Its Efforts To Regulate Fugitive Dust in the West
The Issue:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently revised national air quality standards to include a so-called “coarse particulate matter” (PM) standard. This was a very controversial decision. Coarse PM is another name for organic dust. It differs from fine PM, such as smoke or exhaust, which is the result of combustion. While fine PM has the potential to penetrate deeply and remain in the lungs, coarse PM has never been demonstrated to have adverse impacts on health at ambient levels.
The rule is fundamentally unfair to the West and could strike a death blow to many Western and rural communities. Even worse, this rule lacks even the most basic rational scientific basis.
Once again, Westerners find ourselves fighting a one-size-fits-all regulation written by Washington bureaucrats who know nothing about the West. This rule was written for Eastern states (with high density and lots of moisture) and completely ignores the fact that the population density and climate in the West is different.
Despite the lack of scientific evidence that coarse PM causes adverse health effects - the EPA proceeded to implement the rule. On what basis one might ask? In sadly unsurprising inside-the-beltway fashion, the EPA claims it needs to adopt the new rule in order to determine whether there is a health impact basis for the standard!
Impacts on the West:
This new rule will have very serious ramifications for coal production, mineral extraction, agriculture and home building. And what do Westerners get in exchange for this community destroying regulation? Not a single clearly defined health or environmental benefit.
Solutions:
- Take 60 seconds and urge your Member of Congress to weigh in with EPA against the PM Coarse Standard. Urge him/her to ask EPA to rescind the Rule unless or until adequate scientific evidence exists to justify regulation of mere dust.
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