Environment

Over the past four years, numerous government agencies, especially the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have imposed onerous and often technically unachievable regulatory burdens on steelmakers. Many of these regulations, especially with regard to air emissions limits, present significant challenges for domestic steel operations — despite numerous government analyses showing minimal risk to human health from these domestic steelmaking operations. AISI urges the incoming administration to reject these burdensome regulations and replace them with a more common-sense approach that balances environmental protection with reasonable regulations and recognizes the American steel industry’s global leadership in clean steel production.  

• Air rules on integrated steel plants — The integrated steel industry has been subject to a suite of aggressive regulations that impose potentially job-killing requirements and threaten to degrade the industry’s competitiveness. The administration should reconsider three such regulations that will adversely impact nearly every aspect of the integrated steelmaking process: the Integrated Iron and Steel Rule, Taconite Ore Processing Rule and Coke Ovens Rule. These three final rules should be reconsidered to establish workable standards for steelmakers. 

• Particulate matter (PM2.5) — Restore EPA’s primary annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) to 12 micrograms per cubic meter. The recent reduction of the standard of 9 micrograms per cubic meter will result in excessive costs and lost growth opportunities for steelmakers. The standard of 9 micrograms is at, or even below, naturally occurring levels of PM2.5 and will hinder facility investment by steel companies in many parts of the country. 

• Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) air emissions — Rework EPA’s final rule on EAF air emissions and replace it with achievable standards that are based on industry best practices. In particular, EPA should drop the zero percent opacity standard which is unrealistic for even the most modern and well-controlled sources.  

• Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) — Reexamine the EPA’s CSAPR that set the first-ever interstate ozone controls on nitrogen oxide (NOx) for steel producers. Recently stayed by the Supreme Court of the United States, this rule should be focused on the real causes of downwind ozone rather than imposing unnecessary burdens on steel plants. 

• Greenhouse gas (GHG) power plant rules — Repeal and replace the EPA rules addressing GHG limits for existing coal-fired and new and existing natural gas-fired power plants. Work with industry to determine realistic standards that will not jeopardize the reliability and affordability of electricity supply to energy-intensive industries like steel producers. 

• Air permitting — Overhaul EPA’s complex and burdensome air permitting program which greatly inhibits investment in expansion and growth of steel producers. EPA should update and streamline the process by reversing the Biden administration’s cumbersome permitting rules and overly conservative modeling guidelines.