The United States Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman, Jim Inhofe (Republican – Oklahoma) sent letters to Committee member states requesting feedback on state implementation of United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) regulatory programs.
One of the Committee member states is Arkansas.
Chairman Inhofe’s January 12th letter to Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Director Becky Keogh notes that states such as Arkansas have been determined by the Environmental Council of the States to be responsible for carrying out 96.5% of the federal environmental programs. The letter notes:
… As such, the Committee seeks to better understand the impacts of recent EPA regulatory actions on states such as yours and identify ways to ensure the unique interests of states are adequately considered by EPA in its regulatory process.
The letter cites a report by the Association of Air Pollution Agencies from December 2015 which references nine regulatory deadlines under the Clean Air Act with which states must comply in 2016.
The letter also quotes a Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality regulator who testified before the Committee in 2015 stating in regards to EPA regulations:
… State environmental agencies and specifically MDEQ are being asked to do more with less.
The letter concludes by asking for ADEQ’s feedback on:
… the state resources and efforts necessary to comply with EPA regulatory actions, and whether the current regulatory framework between EPA and the states upholds the principle of cooperative federalism.
Click here to download a copy of the letter to ADEQ.
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