Duckworth Writes to Wheeler About EPA’s Delayed Publishing of Final EtO Rule in the Federal Register

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) wrote a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler yesterday requesting information on the delayed publication of EPA’s finalized rule on Miscellaneous Organic Chemical Manufacturing: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (MON NESHAP) in the Federal Register. Publication in the Federal Register is required to begin enforcement for this critical regulation of a large number of chemical manufacturing facilities across the United States.

In part, Duckworth wrote, “I write to follow up on the delayed publishing of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule on Miscellaneous Organic Chemical Manufacturing: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (MON NESHAP) in the Federal Register (FR).”

Duckworth continued, “The updates to MON NESHAP are indispensable to environmental justice communities who are disproportionately impacted by the pollution regulated by this rule. In order to begin reducing the risks cause by the miscellaneous organic chemical manufacturing source category that the EPA itself found to be unacceptable, the rule needs to be published in the FR as soon as possible.”

Duckworth and U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) released a statement in June of this year when the final rule was announced. Duckworth and Durbin also wrote to EPA raising concerns about this rule when it was proposed in March of this year. Duckworth also wrote to EPA in April of this year asking EPA to improve communication of public health risks of EtO emissions.

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