The E.P.A. estimates that the updated good neighbor rule will cut emissions of nitrogen oxide in the affected states by 50 percent from 2021 levels by 2027, preventing 1,300 premature deaths, avoiding more than 2,300 hospital and emergency room visits, preventing 1.3 million cases of asthma and avoiding 430,000 lost school days and 25,000 missed work days.
Senator Tom Carper, Democrat of Delaware, said he expects to see those benefits realized in his own home state, which he described as located ”at the end of what I call ‘America’s tailpipe.’”
“In Delaware, more than 90 percent of our air pollution comes from outside our state,” Mr. Carper said.
But Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, has raised concerns about the costs to power plants and manufacturers to comply with the strengthened rule, saying it could force some plants to shut down or reduce operations, threatening the reliability of electric grids. Mr. Manchin wrote Mr. Regan last week to ask him to postpone action.
Scott Segal, a lobbyist for Bracewell LLC, which advocates for coal plants and industrial manufacturers, said the cement industry would also feel the brunt at a time when its products are in demand because of a recent influx of federal investment in road and bridge construction.
“The bipartisan infrastructure law anticipates substantially increased use of building materials manufactured here in the United States, a policy objective seemingly at cross purposes with the rule,” Mr. Segal said.
The E.P.A. estimates the cost of complying with the revised rule to be about $910 million annually from 2023 to 2042, while the net economic benefits of the associated public health gains would be up to $13 billion each year over the same time period.
