State Chamber files one of the very first petitions of the Pruitt era
SHEBOYGAN – Last Friday, WMC filed a petition for administrative reconsideration with EPA asking the agency to review a decision made last December to re-classify Sheboygan County into a more stringent nonattainment category. The petition asks EPA to revisit that decision and consider new air monitor data from Wisconsin showing the county is in attainment with air quality standards. The petition was filed just hours after Congress approved new EPA administrator, Scott Pruitt.For decades, an air monitor located along the lakeshore in southeast Sheboygan County has been reading high ozone levels. Studies have shown these high ozone readings are the result of transport from other states, and that, in fact, less than 10 percent of the ozone in Sheboygan County comes from sources in the State of Wisconsin. Three years ago Wisconsin began operating a new air monitor near downtown Sheboygan to get a better snapshot of the true air quality in the county. The Wisconsin DNR recently certified the data from this new air monitor to EPA, which shows that the county is meeting clean air standards.

Lucas Vebber, WMC’s General Counsel and Director of Environmental and Energy Policy released the following statement:

“For too long, Sheboygan County businesses have been forced to take on an increased regulatory burden because of polluters in other states and other countries. These businesses have spent millions of dollars to install state of the art pollution control infrastructure and achieve emission reductions, only to be saddled with increasingly restrictive regulations from EPA.

“Air monitor data within Sheboygan County shows that the air in the county is clean. The petition filed last week asks the administration to look at this newly certified air monitor data and reconsider the prior administration’s decision to put Sheboygan County into a more stringent nonattainment classification.

“We congratulate Administrator Pruitt on his confirmation and look forward to working with the new administration to ensure continued compliance with air quality standards.”