SMA Executive Vice President Brandon Farris today issued the following statement:

“Steel manufacturers are tremendously disappointed by the D.C. Circuit’s decision denying EPA’s motion to vacate the agency’s unprecedented 2024 reconsideration of the PM2.5 NAAQS. As EPA itself has acknowledged, the agency relied on the incorrect statutory authority when promulgating this rule. The U.S. Supreme Court has instructed a court reviewing an agency determination must base its decision on the grounds cited by the agency in its rulemaking record. On this fact alone, we believe the court should have granted EPA’s request for a voluntary vacatur. We strongly encourage EPA to immediately appeal this erroneous decision. If allowed to stand, it will undermine job creation, discourage investment, and impose significant harm on American manufacturing.

“Throughout the rulemaking process, industry repeatedly warned EPA that this standard, as finalized, would have devastating consequences for domestic manufacturing. EPA established a nearly unattainable PM2.5 standard approaching naturally occurring background levels, making it extraordinarily difficult for many communities to permit new manufacturing facilities. EPA’s own data shows that the overwhelming majority of particulate matter emissions originate from wildfires, dust storms, and other natural sources, yet this rule places the greatest burden on companies seeking to invest, expand and create American jobs.

“When EPA finalized this rule, the United States already enjoyed some of the cleanest air in the world. Rather than pursuing meaningful environmental improvements, this “race to zero” threatens to place vast regions of the country off-limits to future economic development while delivering little measurable public health benefit.

“At a time when the American steel industry is experiencing a historic resurgence, with more than $25 billion in announced investments across the country, this regulation threatens to halt that momentum. America should be encouraging manufacturers to build, invest, and create jobs here at home, not erecting unnecessary regulatory barriers that jeopardize our industrial renaissance without any meaningful evidence that it will improve quality of life for Americans.”