Report Shows EPA's Clean Air Act Significantly Benefits Economy

For Immediate Release: 
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

500 Small Business Owners Sign Joint Statement to Congress Supporting Strong EPA Regulation as Agency's Authority Comes Under Threat

WASHINGTON, D.C.///October 5, 2010////Small Business Majority and Main Street Alliance today released a new report showing that the Clean Air Act's economic benefits have far exceeded the costs imposed on businesses, and that any legislation limiting the ability of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gas emissions could have negative implications for business both large and small that have enacted new practices to reduce their carbon footprint as part of their new business model.

At the same time, 500 small business owners affiliated with Main Street Alliance signed on to a letter being sent to Congress stating that small businesses will help to produce more clean energy jobs if Congress allows the EPA to do its job.

According to The Clean Air Act's Economic Benefits: Past, Present and Future, prepared by M.J. Bradley & Associates, LLC, the Clean Air Act has cultivated prolonged economic growth and development by protecting public health and the environment. What's more, the economic benefits have far exceeded the costs. The report also shows that the Act has spurred important technological innovations, which have allowed the U.S. to become a world leader in environmental control technologies.

Small Business Majority Founder and CEO John Arensmeyer said: The Clean Air Act has left an important legacy of widespread economic benefits across both urban and rural communities and businesses large and small. It has also led to the creation of millions of jobs, and has spurred important technological innovations and new industries that have been exported around the world. Despite the progress, important challenges remain. As the success of the Clean Air Act continues to take shape and is fully implemented, the economic advantages it provides will be felt for many years to come.

Kelly Conklin, owner of Foley-Waite Associates, an architectural woodworking firm in Bloomfield, NJ and a member of the Main Street Alliance Executive Committee, said: "The fact that the Clean Air Act has generated economic and public health benefits as much as 40 times the associated costs is a testament to American ingenuity. Setting clear standards 40 years ago ushered in an era of innovation that brought us innovations like the catalytic converter that have made the U.S. a world leader in clean technologies. Main Street small businesses have reaped the benefits in increased energy and fuel efficiencies resulting from these innovations. We have an opportunity, by protecting the EPA's ability to set standards for greenhouse gas emissions, to unleash the next round of innovations and harness those innovations to benefit small businesses and the communities we serve."

The report was prepared by M.J. Bradley & Associates, LLC, and is online at: http://mainstreetalliance.org/wordpress/3134/business-owners-weigh-in-on....

HIGHLIGHTS OF SBM/MSA REPORT

FULL TEXT OF MAIN STREET ALLIANCE SMALL BUSINESS OWNER STATEMENT

The small business statement signed by 498 companies reads as follows:

As small business owners, we know our businesses are the backbone of our local economies. We're committed to providing high quality goods and services, and creating local jobs. We're also committed to protecting our shared quality of life, because it's the right thing to do and because it makes good business sense: healthy communities sustain healthy small businesses.

Climate change poses a serious threat to the health of our communities, putting Main Street small businesses economic future at risk. The Environmental Protection Agency, recognizing this threat to public health, is preparing new standards that will ensure that large emitters of greenhouse gas pollution install the best available technology to limit their emissions. This will not only protect local communities and economies from the perils of climate change, but also encourage investments in clean energy and create green jobs.

The EPA has been protecting American communities from environmental health threats for 40 years. But entrenched special interests like Big Oil and Big Coal are lobbying hard to gut the EPA's authority to do its job. We can't let that happen. We call on Congress to stand with small businesses and our communities, not big polluters, and support EPA's move to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

The small business statement is available online at

http://mainstreetalliance.org/wordpress/3134/business-owners-weigh-in-on....

  • The Clean Air Act has proven to be a very good investment. Studies show that the economic benefits of the Act have far exceeded the costs of controlling air pollution emissions. According to the Office of Management and Budget, the total economic benefits of the Clean Air Act are estimated at more than four to eight times the costs of compliance.
  • The CAA has fostered a long period of economic growth and development by protecting public health and the environment. In the last two decades, emissions of the most common air pollutants have declined by 41 percent, while Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased by more than 64 percent.
  • The CAA has spurred important technological innovations, such as catalytic converters, that have helped make the United States a world leader in the export of environmental control technologies. Exports of environmental technologies grew by 130 percent between 1993 and 2003, and were valued at $30 billion in 2004.

ABOUT THE GROUPS:

Small Business Majority is a national nonprofit small business advocacy organization focused on solving the biggest problems facing America's 28 million small businesses. We conduct extensive opinion and economic research and work with small business owners, policy experts and elected officials nationwide to bring nonpartisan small business voices to the public policy table.

The Main Street Alliance is a national network of state-based small business coalitions. The Alliance creates opportunities for small business owners to speak for ourselves, advancing public policies that are good for our businesses, our employees, and the communities we serve.

CONTACT: Alex Grodin, (571) 340-0085 or [email protected].