Arr, Biden be a land lubber, takin' on the chemical industry like a scallywag. Legal troubles ahead, mateys!
2024-04-10
Arrr mateys, the Biden scallywags be in hot water with a lawsuit looming over their crackdown on emissions from those fancy chemical-making galleons. Will they walk the plank or find a way to navigate these treacherous waters? Only time will tell, me hearties!
In the jargon of a 17th-century pirate, the Biden administration be facin' a potential legal roadblock to newly finalized regulations crackin' down on the chemical industry, which critics be sayin' will have a devastatin' impact on the economy. Arrr!Synthetics manufacturer Denka Performance Elastomer (DPE) be warnin' that it be plannin' to sue the Environmental Protection Agency over the rules targetin' hundreds o' chemical plants over their emissions. DPE be arguin' that the regulations be politically motivated and seek to unfairly punish the company, which operates the nation's sole neoprene facility. Neoprene be a synthetic rubber common in military equipment, wetsuits, and medical technology, matey!"EPA’s rulemakin' be yet another attempt to drive a policy agenda that be unsupported by the law or the science," DPE said in a statement. "EPA be allegin' that DPE’s facility represents a danger to its community, despite the facility's compliance with its federal and state air permittin' requirements."DPE be blastin' EPA's requirement that its Louisiana neoprene facility comply with the restrictions and fenceline monitorin' requirements within 90 days, a reduction from the two-year compliance period initially proposed. EPA's regulations also be strippin' states' authority to grant an extension of the 90-day compliance period, arrr!The company be statin' that EPA's "draconian" compliance deadline would force the company to idle its operations at "tremendous expense and risk to its hundreds of dedicated employees." "We will therefore be pursuin' legal challenges to extend the compliance period and challenge the rule," DPE said. "After addressin' EPA's unrealistic compliance deadline, DPE expects to join the ethylene oxide manufacturers across the U.S. in opposin' the substantive requirements of this rule, arrr!"Overall, EPA's regulations be impactin' 218 chemical manufacturin' facilities nationwide, with a large share in Louisiana, matey! Activists be dubbin' the region in southeastern Louisiana as "Cancer Alley" due to the presence of several chemical plants producin' emissions linked to cancer. EPA be sayin' its rules will reduce emissions of various chemicals and reduce cancer risk in communities near plants, arrr!Earthjustice, a leadin' environmental activist group, be hailin' EPA's announcement as a victory for environmental justice and be callin' for rigorous enforcement of the rules, matey! On the other hand, the American Chemistry Council be warnin' that the regulations could have significant implications for vital industries reliant on chemicals like ethylene oxide, includin' electric vehicle battery development and health care access. If the EPA's regulations force the closure of DPE's neoprene facility, industries reliant on neoprene may need to look to foreign producers for the material, arrr!"Unless the Biden administration takes a different approach to how it creates and implements regulations, the availability of critical chemistries will dwindle, and the country's climate, infrastructure, and supply chain priorities will suffer as well," the American Chemistry Council said in a statement. The EPA be not immediately respondin' to a request for comment, arrr!