Scott, Wicker, Griffith Push Back on EPA Overreach

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to overturn the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Rubber Tire Manufacturing National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) rule. Amendments to NESHAP were finalized by the Biden administration in November 2024, despite the EPA’s own risk review finding that the rule was not necessary to protect public health or the environment and could not quantify any public health benefits from the rule.

“The amended Biden NESHAP rule is counterproductive in every sense and the type of government inefficiency and overreach Americans are sick of. It will increase emissions and cost job creators millions in compliance expenses each year,” said Senator Scott.“I’m proud to join my Republican colleagues in pushing back on this rule that only serves to hurt South Carolina workers, businesses, and our economy.”

“As Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment, a key focus of mine is to get the EPA back to a compliance-focused regulatory regime,” said Representative Griffith. “In the waning days of the Biden Administration, scores of ill-advised, unreasonable regulations were issued to overburden American industry. Rubber tire manufacturers already comply with stringent air emission rules. I am introducing this CRA resolution to roll back a last-minute Biden EPA regulation that was based on questionable data and imposes onerous one-size-fits-all pollution controls. I am glad to join this legislative fight with strong leaders like Senators Tim Scott and Roger Wicker.”

“In the final weeks of the Biden-Harris Administration, the EPA implemented burdensome rules that increase costs and harm American manufactures,” said House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Guthrie. “Unsurprisingly, the EPA failed to collect the necessary and specific data needed to inform this rulemaking, but went ahead and implemented a new set of emissions standards that will raise prices for consumers and put family-sustaining jobs at risk anyway. I’m grateful to Chairman Griffith for his work and look forward to working with my Energy and Commerce Committee colleagues as well as President Trump and Administrator Zeldin to address this issue.” 

“Tire manufacturing facilities have long understood and complied with the existing National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) standards to reduce hazardous air pollutant emissions from rubber mixers. However, the agency’s revised final NESHAP rule actually creates an adverse environmental impact, while imposing significant financial burdens on tire manufacturing facilities and providing negligible, if any, benefits. While we continue to work with the EPA, we urge Congress to take action to undo this final rule in order to limit the deleterious effects on the U.S. tire manufacturing industry, the U.S. economy, and the environment,” said Anne Forristall Luke, President and CEO, U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA).

In addition to Senators Scott and Wicker, the resolution is cosponsored by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.).

In the House of Representatives, additional cosponsors include Reps. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), Derek Schmidt (R-Kan.), Mike Bost (R-Ill.), Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.), Troy Balderson (R-Ohio), Randy Weber (R-Texas), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Bob Latta (R-Ohio), and Buddy Carter (R-Ga.).

BACKGROUND

• The Rubber Tire Manufacturing source category is comprised of facilities that produce rubber components such as rubber compounds, tread, tire cords, and liners. The category is split into rubber processing, tire production, tire cord production, and puncture seal application subcategories. 
• In 2002, the original Rubber Tire Manufacturing NESHAP established emissions limits for the tire production, tire cord production, and puncture seal application subcategories.
• In 2020, a residual risk and technology review (RTR) found that the current NESHAP provided an ample margin of safety to protect public health and that the risk associated with air emissions from rubber tire manufacturing was acceptable. The RTR also clarified that emissions during startup, shutdown, and malfunction are subject to the NESHAP.
• The DC Court determined in Louisiana Environmental Action Network v. EPA that the agency should address unregulated emissions from a source category when the EPA conducts an eight-year technological review as required by the Clean Air Act.
• On November 16, 2023, the EPA proposed the emission standards to address unregulated hazardous air pollutants from the rubber processing subcategory pursuant to the decision in Louisiana Environmental Action Network.
• The EPA’s risk review found that the rule was not necessary to protect public health or the environment and could not quantify any public health benefits from the rule.
• To comply with the rule, tire manufacturers will have to install regenerative thermal oxidizers (RTOs), which will cause an increase in CO2 emissions. As a result, the EPA quantified public health disbenefits associated with the rule ranging from $2.7 million to $8.1 million per year, in addition to $13.3 million per year in compliance costs.

Full text of the resolution can be found here. 

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