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mas4ington, il<!: 20515 

The Honorable Gina McCarthy 

Administrator 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

1200 Pennsylvania A venue NW 

Washington, DC 20460 

Dear Administrator McCarthy: 

July 14,2014 

We have serious concerns with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed National 

Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Clay Ceramics Manufacturing (NESHAP) 

(79 Fed. Reg. 75622), which is expected to be finalized by September 2015. In this draft rule, 

EPA proposes to regulate "major sources" of air emissions in the ceramic tile industry, even 

though EPA admits in the preamble that there are no major sources in this industry to regulate. 

EPA even admits that, because these regulations will regulate no one, they have no 

environmental benefits - an admission that acknowledges the needlessness of this proposed 

regulation. 

Volw1tary action by the tiie industry to reduce emissions has resulted in all ceramic tile 

manufacturing facilities in the country remaining below the major source threshold. Industry has 

voluntarily spent millions of dollars to permanently reduce emissions, and their success has 

occurred at least four years earlier than if industry had waited for EPA to promulgate a major 

source NESHAP. These initiatives have been developed at considerable cost and expense to 

domestic tile producers. These initiatives include a third-party certified environmental footprint 

for North American ceramic tile and thousands of products certified to the American National 

Standards Institute-accredited (ANSI) Green Squared sustainability standard. 

Furthermore, since there are no major sources of air emissions in the ceramic tile industry, 

EI• A's proposed ruie reiies on hypochetical manulactming and air emissions control strategies, 

flawed scientific data from an non-validated stack test method, non-validated assumptions taken 

from other industries with no ceramic tile precedents, and generally questionable science. Using 

questionable data and conclusions based on flawed science in federal regulation sets an 

unacceptable precedent. 

We recognize that EPA entered into a Consent Decree with Sierra Club to settle a dead! ine 

lawsuit tiled by that group. Sierra Club v. EPA, 850 F.2d 300 (D.D.C. 2012). The Sierra Club 

Consent Decree requires EPA to finalize regulations for the major sources in the Clay Ceramics 

Manufacturing Category. However, under the Administrative Procedure Act, EPA may not 

agree in a Consent Decree to adopt a particular regulatory outcome. A decision not to establish 

standards is a final rulemaking. 

Further, there are no Consent Decree requirements applicable specifically to the ceramic tile 

industry because, although it is a subcategory of the Clay Ceramics Manufacturing Category, 

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 
there are no major source ceramic tile plants. Even if EPA had the authority to agree to the 

outcome of a rulemaking in a Consent Decree, the Consent Decree's directive will be satisfied 

when EPA finalizes regulations for the brick manufacturing and sanitaryware manufacturing 

industries, subcategories of Clay Ceramics Manufacturing for which there are major sources. 

Since there are no costs or emissions reductions expected under the Clay Ceramics 

Manufacturing rule, it is our request that the standards for ceramic tile manufacturing not be 

finalized. Any additional time spent on an action that applies to no one would be a waste of 

federal government resources and taxpayer dollars. 

Sincerely, 

United States Senator 

Deb Fischer Lamar Alexander .~ United States Senator United States Senator 

arlais 

.S. House ofRepresentatives U.S. House of Representatives 

U.S. House of Representatives 
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U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House ofRcpresentaf s 

Ryan · 

U.S. ouse ofRepresentatives 

Jtr.&4~ Stephen Fincher Diane Black 

U.S. House of Representatives U.S. House of Representatives 

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U.S. House of Representatives 

Shelley Mo \;

~~ Capito Boozman 

United States Senator Um ed States Senator 

cc: Janet McCabe, Acting Assistant Administrator for Air