To: "Higgins, Cortney" <Cortney_Higgins@omb.eop.gov>

From: "Walker, J.C." <Walker@khlaw.com>

Date: 12/29/2011 02:20PM

Cc: "de la Cruz, Peter L." <Delacruz@khlaw.com>, "Echols, Mabel E." 

<Mabel_E._Echols@omb.eop.gov>, Penny Lassiter/RTP/USEPA/US@EPA, Jodi 

Howard/RTP/USEPA/US@EPA, "Richard M. Doyle" <ddoyle@vinylinfo.org>

Subject: Re: Background Materials for Review of PVC MACT Rulemaking

(See attached file: Vinyl Institute Letter RE PVC MACT.pdf)

(See attached file: US PVC Resin Operations Poster_Start to Finish 12-2-11.pdf)

(See attached file: Vinyl Institute Suggested Checklist for Review of Final PVC MACT Rule 

12-28-11dd.pdf)

(See attached file: Final VI PVC MACT IHS EIA Report 12-28-11.pdf)

(See attached file: Vinyl Institute Key Issues With Proposed PVC MACT Standard 12 29 

11.pdf)

Cortney (resent with additional file),

Following up on my voicemail earlier this morning, please 

find attached several documents intended to facilitate 

your discussions with the Vinyl Institute and its members 

scheduled for 10 am on January 5, 2012. The enclosed 

documents include:

1. A letter from Richard M. Doyle, VI President and Chief Executive Officer; 

2. Vinyl Institute’s Key Issues with the Proposed PVC MACT Standard;

3. U.S. PVC Resin Operations Start-to-Finish flowchart;

4. Checklist of issues that need to be addressed in the final PVC MACT rule; and

5. IHS Global Insights Report: “The Economic Impact of Proposed PVC MACT Rule on Resin Producers, 

Processors and the U.S. Economy,” December 2011.

Our client and its members appreciate the opportunity to 

meet with you and other appropriate OMB staff to 

discuss their concerns about this critical rulemaking. We 

also appreciate your flexibility in scheduling this meeting. 
We understand, however, that the date may have to 

change if your office does not receive the draft final PVC 

MACT from EPA before January 5. Given that OMB does 

not appear to have received the rule from EPA (according 

to Regingo.gov), and given the January 13, 2012 

Settlement Agreement deadline, we remain concerned 

about the uncertainty surrounding this meeting, and 

possible timing constraints on OMB's review of the rule. 

In particular, many of our meeting participants will be 

coming in from out of town and need to finalize their 

travel arrangements within the next day or so. 

Moreover, several are scheduling overseas trips around 

this meeting date and may incur significant penalties if 

the meeting changes at the last minute. Accordingly, we 

would appreciate any information you can provide to us 

concerning the rule's arrival at OMB, and a firm 

confirmation of the January 5 meeting date. Otherwise, 

we look forward to meeting with you to discuss the PVC 

MACT, and as always, please do not hesitate to contact 

me if you have any questions or concerns.

Best regards,

JC

--
Jean-Cyril Walker

Partner

Tel: 202.434.4181 | Fax 202.434.4646 | walker@khlaw.com

1001 G Street, N.W., Suite 500 West | Washington, D.C. 20001

Keller and Heckman LLP

Serving Business through Law and Science®

Washington, D.C. | Brussels | San Francisco | Shanghai

Visit our websites at www.khlaw.com for additional information 

on Keller and Heckman. -

From: Cortney Higgins <Cortney_Higgins@omb.eop.gov>

Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:17:49 -0500

To: Jean-Cyril Walker <walker@khlaw.com>

Cc: Peter de la Cruz <Delacruz@khlaw.com>, "Echols, Mabel E." <Mabel_E._Echols@omb.eop.gov>

Subject: RE: Background Materials for Review of PVC MACT Rulemaking

Hi J.C.,

Thank you for your email. I’ve copied Mabel Echols on this email, who can work with you to schedule a 

meeting.

Mabel, this is for RIN 2060–AN33 (National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP): 

Polyvinyl Chloride and Copolymers Production, Amendments), which has a settlement agreement 

deadline of 1/13/2011.

Regards,

Cortney
From: Walker, J.C. [mailto:Walker@khlaw.com] 

Sent: Wednesday, December 14, 2011 5:15 PM

To: Higgins, Cortney

Cc: de la Cruz, Peter L.

Subject: Re: Background Materials for Review of PVC MACT Rulemaking

Importance: High

Cortney,

I do not mean to be paranoid, but given the schedule EPA agreed to with the 

Sierra Club, we expected the PVC MACT to be at OMB by now. We just 

wanted to confirm that it has not yet arrived. Under the circumstances, 

perhaps we could go ahead and schedule a meeting with OMB for PVC 

industry stakeholders in January under the assumption that the rule will be 

at OMB by the end of the year. It may be more difficult to finalize such 

arrangements as we get closer to the holidays.

Best regards,

JC 

--

Jean-Cyril Walker

Partner

Tel: 202.434.4181 | Fax 202.434.4646 | walker@khlaw.com

1001 G Street, N.W., Suite 500 West | Washington, D.C. 20001

Keller and Heckman LLP
Serving Business through Law and Science®

Washington, D.C. | Brussels | San Francisco | Shanghai

Visit our websites at www.khlaw.com for additional information on Keller and 

Heckman. -

From: Cortney Higgins <Cortney_Higgins@omb.eop.gov>

Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:57:43 -0500

To: Jean-Cyril Walker <walker@khlaw.com>

Cc: "Echols, Mabel E." <Mabel_E._Echols@omb.eop.gov>

Subject: RE: Background Materials for Review of PVC MACT Rulemaking

Hi JC,

Thank you for your email, along with the supporting information.

The final rule is not yet here for review, but once it is, you can work with Mabel Echols (copied above) to 

schedule an EO 12866 meeting. You can check our website to see when the rule is submitted for review: 

http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoReviewSearch. The rule has the RIN 2060-AN33 and title National 

Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP): Polyvinyl Chloride and Copolymers 

Production, Amendments.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Cortney

From: Walker, J.C. [mailto:Walker@khlaw.com] 

Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 5:43 PM
To: Higgins, Cortney

Cc: de la Cruz, Peter L.

Subject: Background Materials for Review of PVC MACT Rulemaking

Cortney,

I trust you are well. I wanted to follow-up on our conversation a few weeks ago about EPA's forthcoming PVC MACT 

rulemaking, and the concerns of the PVC industry over the rule's scope and economic impact, if promulgated as proposed. As 

we discussed, the industry submitted over a 120 pages of comments, 800 pages of attachment and megabytes of emissions 

data to EPA setting out their technical concerns with the rule.

Every indication we have received to date from the Agency suggests that they are taking our comments seriously, are reviewing 

our conservative analyses and making use of the copious amounts of actual emissions and test data we provided. As the 

attached letter to Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy makes clear, the industry has nothing but praise for the 

professionalism and dedication of the EPA staff working on this rulemaking. 

The staff's work has been particularly notable given the intrinsic complexities of the PVC manufacturing process, and the 

constrained rulemaking schedule imposed on the Agency by the Settlement Agreement governing the rulemaking schedule. 

But this is also precisely the basis for our concern. As we note in the executive summary enclosed with the letter to Assistant 

Administrator McCarthy, the fact that not a single PVC facility can meet the proposed limits for stripped resin illustrates the 

challenges of this rulemaking. 

Indeed, as the enclosed cost-estimate we recently sent to EPA indicates, the stakes are quite high, and a mistake in the final 

rule could be devastating to the industry, and more importantly, propagate catastrophe down the supply chain to unrelated 

industries. Yet our ask is quite simple and similar to that requested of Ms. McCarthy. We merely are requesting that OIRA 

exercise close scrutiny of the rule when it is submitted for E.O. 12686 review, to ensure that appropriate time was taken to 

review and address all the technical issues raised by the industry, and that the Agency has considered all the intended and 

unintended consequences of its decisionmaking.

As we discussed, the industry fully intends to request a meeting with you and other appropriate OMB staff once the rule arrives 

in your offices for review. In the interim, we trust that the attached information provides sufficient background and an 

adequate explanation of our concerns. Of course, please do not hesitate to ask if you need more information. 

Best regards,
JC

--

Jean-Cyril Walker

Partner

Tel: 202.434.4181 | Fax 202.434.4646 | walker@khlaw.com

1001 G Street, N.W., Suite 500 West | Washington, D.C. 20001

Keller and Heckman LLP

Serving Business through Law and Science®

Washington, D.C. | Brussels | San Francisco | Shanghai

Visit our websites at www.khlaw.com for additional information on Keller and Heckman. -

Please consider the environment before printing this email. 

This message and any attachments may be confidential and/or subject to the attorney/client 

privilege, IRS Circular 230 Disclosure or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not a 

designated addressee (or an authorized agent), you have received this e-mail in error, and any 

further use by you, including review, dissemination, distribution, copying, or disclosure, is 

strictly prohibited. If you are not a designated addressee (or an authorized agent), we request that 

you immediately notify us of this error by reply e-mail and then delete it from your system. 

Please consider the environment before printing this email. 

This message and any attachments may be confidential and/or subject to 

the attorney/client privilege, IRS Circular 230 Disclosure or otherwise 

protected from disclosure. If you are not a designated addressee (or an 

authorized agent), you have received this e-mail in error, and any further 

use by you, including review, dissemination, distribution, copying, or 

disclosure, is strictly prohibited. If you are not a designated addressee (or an 

authorized agent), we request that you immediately notify us of this error 

by reply e-mail and then delete it from your system. 

Please consider the environment before printing this email. 
This message and any attachments may be confidential and/or subject to the attorney/client 

privilege, IRS Circular 230 Disclosure or otherwise protected from disclosure. If you are not 

a designated addressee (or an authorized agent), you have received this e-mail in error, 

and any further use by you, including review, dissemination, distribution, copying, or 

disclosure, is strictly prohibited. If you are not a designated addressee (or an authorized 

agent), we request that you immediately notify us of this error by reply e-mail and then 

delete it from your system.