NRMCA Weighs in on Eight Years of Onerous EPA Regulations

Last week, NRMCA submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) detailing numerous regulations adverse to the ready mixed concrete industry that have, in some fashion, been promulgated over the last eight years. NRMCA’s comments were in response to an April 13, 2017 request from EPA for comments on evaluating existing regulations "that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification." The EPA request was made following President Trump’s February 24, 2017 Executive Order requiring federal regulatory agencies create regulatory reform task forces to "evaluate existing regulations and make recommendations to the agency head regarding their repeal, replacement, or modification." Comments for the EPA request were due May 15, 2017, at close of business the number of comments submitted to the docket exceeded 55,000. 

Specifically, NRMCA’s comments covered 11 separate topics and 13 different regulations on issues that severely burden the industry’s ability to effectively and efficiently operate. NRMCA’s comments covered the topics of cement NESHAP/CISWI rules, corrosivity,  emissions rules, fly ash, ozone, Phase 2-GHGs and efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks, spill prevention, control and countermeasures (SPCC), stormwater, Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program, Waters of the United States (WOTUS) and wage garnishment.