U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Environment and Public Works’ Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight Subcommittee, was joined by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) in sending a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to express concern over a proposed rule regarding waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities. The EPA’s proposed rule would further tighten Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards for existing WTE facilities while simultaneously removing compliance exceptions, leading to dramatic and unnecessary increases in compliance costs across Oklahoma without significant benefit. The lawmakers urged the EPA to reexamine its proposal prior to issuing a final rule to ensure that new standards are set consistent with actual data provided.

“Municipal waste combustors, waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities, are a vital waste management technology that communities and businesses in Oklahoma use to divert waste from landfills, recycle metal, and generate renewable energy. Communities and businesses in Oklahoma, and across the country have invested billions of dollars to ensure these facilities are meeting the already stringent environmental standards set by your agency and by states,” write the lawmakers.

“The EPA should be mindful of the fact that imposing standards that WTE facilities will never meet is well beyond EPA’s statutory authority,” the lawmakers continue.

The full letter can be found here.

Background:

• The proposed rule refers to the Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Large Municipal Waste Combustors, Voluntary Remand Response and 5 Year Review (89 FR 4243), which includes a re-evaluation of the MACT floor determinations issued on January 23^rd, 2024.
• The Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments of 1990 established the MACT standards to ensure that all facilities in an industry sector meet the same standards as the top 12 percent of performing facilities. The EPA set these attainable standards, known as ‘MACT floors’, for WTE facilities twice, in 1995 and 2006.

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