The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued tighter pollution limits for industrial boilers and cement plants while giving companies more time to comply than under previous drafts.
The handful of final regulations released Friday are among the most broadly applicable clean-air standards issued under President Barack Obama, and have generated concern from lawmakers and industry groups that they would impose overwhelming burdens on companies. Even before the rules were issued, environmental groups complained that the agency was scaling them back too far in the face of political pressure.
After the EPA announcement, the National Association of Manufacturers called the measures “costly and crippling,” saying studies show the rules could cost the industry $14 billion.
The regulations had been proposed earlier by the EPA, and the agency bowed to industry demands and extended deadlines. Cement makers such as Paris-based Lafarge SA must meet the emissions caps by September 2015, two years later than originally proposed. The compliance deadline for regulations on boilers, which are used in refineries, chemical plants and paper mills, were extended to three years from now, with the option to request an additional year.