The National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA) shared comments with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Reform in response to a request from Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), ranking committee Democrat Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs & Federal Management Subcommittee Chairman James Lankford (R-Okla.), and ranking subcommittee Democrat Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), for a review that the committee has undertaken on the impact of federal regulations.
NSSGA President and CEO Michael W. Johnson pointed out that the speed of economic recovery is directly related to the growth of government and regulators should consider cumulative impacts of compliance before more rules are imposed. Johnson’s letter said, “This would allow the capital costs and feasibility of compliance associated with a new rule to be more thoughtfully understood both by regulators and stakeholders. Anything that affects the costs of aggregates ultimately results in increased costs of public works projects that are passed along to taxpayers.”
Among the rules and impacts that NSSGA highlighted in its comments are: the OSHA Crystalline Silica rule; the MSHA Civil Penalties and POV rules; the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule; and, the Executive Order defining floodplains. NSSGA commented that too often the costs of the federal rules far outweigh the benefits and that federal rules must be based on published, peer-reviewed assessments of risk.
The entirety of NSSGA’s comments can be found [HERE]. Please direct any questions to Pam Whitted, Sr. V.P. Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, a [email protected].