The West Virginia Manufacturers
Association claims new ozone proposals from the EPA could cost the state
thousands of jobs and millions of dollars.
Joe Eddy, president and CEO of Eagle
Manufacturing, said the EPA has only identified 26 percent of the controls
needed to meet the standard. Business owners are concerned where they will get
the other 74 percent.
“It really has the potential to create
the uncertainty that really halts economic development,” Eddy said at a news
conference Thursday.
Eddy rattled off several numbers during
the media briefing on how the regulations could impact businesses, including
$658 million in compliance costs and more than 14,000 job losses.
“All we’re really asking is our country
to stop being punished for what would be considered conceived sins of the past,
and we’re asking for a responsible balance between the regulatory and
industry,” Eddy said.
Corky Demarco, executive director of
the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, called the EPA guidelines an
overreaction: “Those sins of the past have been corrected now. Why create an
economic imbalance in this country again?”
