MATS Rule Can Create Opportunities for Small Businesses

John Arensmeyer

Statement by John Arensmeyer on February 16, 2012:

The Environmental Protection Agency today published in the Federal Register its final rule requiring power companies to clean up or close their dirtiest plants—a rule supported by small business owners across the political spectrum, and one that will create much-needed jobs.

National polling we conducted found 76 percent of small employers support the EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, refineries and other major emitters. Additionally, 79 percent of small business owners support having clean air and water in their community and 61 percent support standards that move the country towards energy efficiency and clean energy.

A recent report by the Political Economy Research Institute found this new rule—called the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)—is part of a suite of clean-air standards that will create 1.4 million new jobs over the next five years.

Despite strong support for these standards and their projected economic benefits, some have claimed they will actually stifle job growth. That opposition is misguided. The job market will not suffer from the new rules, and saying that it would is an exercise in political rhetoric that ignores a wide body of research indicating otherwise.

We are pleased to see lawmakers considering small business owners’ views on this issue and working to meet their needs.