NADCA files comments opposing EPA ground level ozone rule.

Press Release Summary:



NADCA filed official comments opposing EPA's proposed rule lowering National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone from 75 ppb to 65 ppb. Recent study showed proposal will reduce GDP by $140 billion annually and could exceed $1 trillion in compliance costs. These restrictions will severely affect local manufacturing community and may force die casting businesses to forgo expanding facilities or purchasing new equipment for fear of exceeding latest limits set by regulators in Washington.



Original Press Release:



NADCA Files Comments Opposing EPA Ground Level Ozone Rule



Washington, D.C. – The North American Die Casting Association (NADCA) today filed official comments opposing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule lowering the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Ozone (O3) from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 65ppb. A recent study showed the proposal will reduce GDP by $140 billion annually and could exceed $1 trillion in compliance costs.



Lowering the current standards to 65ppb places nearly the entire country into nonattainment status. In Ohio, no counties meet the latest proposed levels, only five in Pennsylvania, two in Indiana, and seven in Illinois. According to EPA's own data, even our national parks, including the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone, would fail to meet the proposed NAAQS for ozone standards.



“We believe the federal government should allow today’s standards a chance to fully show their progress,” said NADCA President Dan Twarog. “It is the EPA which caused the delays in the initial release of the previous and latest standards, yet it is the manufacturing community who is paying the price,” continued Mr. Twarog.



These restrictions will severely affect the local manufacturing community and their ability to compete globally. The proposed standard may force die casting businesses to forgo expanding their facilities or purchasing new equipment for fear of exceeding the latest limits set by regulators in Washington. In other cases, due to the nature of die casting machinery, engineering equipment alone will not lead to the required reductions meaning some companies may have to idle certain operations or restrict their production output to avoid exceeding ozone limits.



NADCA has manufacturing members throughout the country in counties that have yet to meet the current 80ppb standards. For example, in Illinois’ Cook, Dekalb, and DuPage Counties, current levels all sit at 82ppb. The same applies to the thousands of manufacturers in Cleveland (80ppb), Cincinnati (81ppb), Philadelphia (84ppb), and St. Louis (82ppb).



The EPA’s own data shows that ozone levels have fallen by a third since 1980 and by nearly 20 percent between 2000 and 2013. The EPA, barely five years ago, set the new standards and if the Agency allowed the states to continue fully implementing the current law, the U.S. would see emissions reduced by another 36 percent.



Click here to view NADCA's filed comments opposing the EPA Ground Level Ozone Rule.



Founded in 1989, NADCA represents more than 300 die casters in the U.S. Part of an industry with roughly 50,000 employees; the typical NADCA member has annual sales around $30 million with 150 full-time workers. The industry has facilities in roughly forty states manufacturing products for the agriculture, aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, medical, and other industries that serve as the backbone of our nation’s security and economy.

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