The Biden administration is already facing potential legal obstacles to a new package of regulations cracking down on the chemical industry, which critics say would have a devastating impact on the economy.
Plastics maker Denka Performance Elastomers (DPE) on Tuesday threatened to sue the Environmental Protection Agency over regulations targeting emissions from hundreds of chemical plants. DPE argued that the regulation was politically motivated and aimed at unfairly punishing the company, which operates the country’s only neoprene factory. Neoprene is a synthetic rubber common in military equipment, wetsuits, and medical technology.
“EPA’s rulemaking is yet another attempt to advance a policy agenda unsupported by law or science,” DPE said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “EPA asserted that DPE’s facility is dangerous to the community despite its compliance with federal and state air permitting requirements.”
In particular, DPE blasted the EPA’s requirement that neoprene facilities in Louisiana that produce chloroprene emissions comply with regulatory and fenceline monitoring requirements within 90 days, compared to the originally proposed two-year The compliance period has been shortened. EPA’s regulations also strip states of their ability to grant 90-day compliance extensions.
Republicans suing Biden administration over environmental justice activities: ‘Dystopian nightmare’
Photo taken August 12, 2021 of the Denka Performance Elastomer facility in LaPlace, Louisiana. The plant is the only one in the U.S. that produces neoprene, a synthetic rubber common in munitions, wetsuits and medical technology. (Emily Cusk/AFP via Getty Images)
The company said the EPA’s “draconian” compliance deadline would force it to shut down operations at “significant cost and risk to hundreds of dedicated employees.”
“Accordingly, we intend to proceed with a legal challenge seeking an extension of the compliance period, the return of the state’s authority to grant extensions, and a challenge to the rule,” the DPE said. “After addressing EPA’s unrealistic compliance deadlines, DPE looks forward to working with ethylene oxide manufacturers across the country to oppose the substantive requirements of this rule.”
Biden administration appears to have fabricated paper trail to shut down large chemical plant: court documents
Overall, the EPA regulations announced Tuesday affect 218 chemical manufacturing facilities across the country, the majority of them in Louisiana. Activists have dubbed this area of southeastern Louisiana “Cancer Alley” because of the presence of chemical plants that they say produce emissions linked to cancer.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan speaks at an event in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 16 as President Joe Biden looks on. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The EPA said the rule would reduce emissions of benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride, as well as ethylene oxide and chloroprene, by 80%. The agency says this will result in a 96% reduction in the number of people at high risk of cancer in areas near factories.
The White House Council on Environmental Quality said, “By issuing strong clean air standards and requiring companies to monitor fence-line pollution, the Biden-Harris administration will protect communities from toxic chemicals that cause cancer. “We’re making sure the public knows what’s in the air.” Chair Brenda Mallory.
Biden administration investigates after FOX News Digital showed paper trails may have been fabricated on chemical factory shutters
Earthjustice, a leading environmental activist group, called the EPA’s announcement a victory for the “pursuit of environmental justice” and called for stricter enforcement of the rules.
The Environmental Protection Agency is targeting the multibillion-dollar chemical industry as part of a broader environmental justice effort. (Getty Images)
However, the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical manufacturers, said the regulation would have a significant impact on critical industries such as electric vehicle battery development, agricultural products, domestic semiconductor manufacturing, and medical access that relies on ethylene. He said it would be. oxide.
The neoprene produced by DPE at its LaPlace, Louisiana, facility is used to make everything from scuba gear to automobile gaskets. If the facility closes as a result of the EPA’s regulations, industries that rely on neoprene could be forced to turn to foreign producers for the material.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The American Chemistry Council says, “Unless the Biden administration takes a different approach to how regulations are developed and implemented, the availability of critical chemicals will decline and the nation’s climate, infrastructure, and supply chain priorities will be similarly affected.”
EPA did not respond to requests for comment.
