NAM Regulatory Update: Q&A: Biden Releases Regulatory “Wish List”

As part of an effort to bring more information about the regulatory and legal environment facing American manufacturers, NFPA is monitoring the newsfeed of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and will be bringing important updates like this to the attention of NFPA members.

President Biden has released his regulatory “wish list” for a second term.

What’s going on: Last Friday (7/5/24), the White House published the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which “show[s] agencies’ timelines for rules dealing with everything from natural gas power plants to household appliances.”

Of particular importance to manufacturers are regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the Treasury Department.

EPA rules: The EPA—a primary source of the flurry of federal regulation in the past year—is being closely watched for several pending rules.

These include its highly anticipated rule on greenhouse gas emissions from existing natural gas power plants, expected to arrive in December.

In April, the EPA released its final rule on emissions from existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants. While NAM outreach to legislators was critical in getting existing gas plants removed from the purview of these rules, the regulations issued are unachievable without permitting reform, as the NAM said at the time.

A rule to set wastewater standards for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, from chemical and plastics plants will be proposed by September, the EPA said. In April, the EPA set the first-ever national drinking water rule limiting PFAS levels to “near zero,” a move the NAM said could “have adverse effects on manufacturers.”

Energy regs: The DOE is set to unveil regulations on the energy efficiency of several household appliances.

The agency “plans to finalize regulations on commercial ice-makers in September, commercial refrigerators and freezers in November, walk-in coolers and freezers in November, residential boilers in December and other appliance categories.”

In January, thanks in large part to the NAM’s advocacy, the DOE finalized less stringent energy-efficiency rules for gas stoves.

Treasury rules: Treasury is on track to finish a proposal tied to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that would give incentives to clean energy projects built next year “and potentially decades into the future.”

The agenda includes a proposal to add credits under the IRA’s sections 45Y and 48E “for electric power projects that eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.”

Treasury is reviewing public comments on its guidance for the IRA’s first clean hydrogen production tax credit, the 45V, which the NAM has urged it to revise. There is “no date set” for the rule’s finalization.