On September 7, APGA, along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and others, submitted a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in response to the proposed lowering of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter.
The consequences of lowering the PM2.5 air quality standards through discretionary rulemaking would have impacts on APGA members. Specifically, energy development could be halted. There could be onerous burdens to natural gas production operations, which would limit supply. As well, the permits needed to build natural gas pipelines could be affected, meaning even more constraints to get energy to the neighbors, businesses, and industries public gas utilities serve. This would be in addition to other economic impacts, as this Administration continues to propose challenges to obtaining the necessary permits to build infrastructure.
This letter urges the EPA to maintain their current NAAQS for particulate matter. APGA and all in the energy supply chain have worked with the EPA and its state partners to lower fine particulate matter emissions over the years and is continuing the progress, all with the steady growth in the U.S. economy, population, and energy use. Thanks to innovation and investment, new emissions control technologies and solutions have been widely adopted to improve air quality.
APGA will continue to work on this issue with those partners that were a part of this letter and will keep members informed on how this proposal progresses. For questions on this article, please contact Sydney Freed of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-0834 or by email at sfreed@apga.org.