Clean Air Act must be amended to end EPA mandates. We pay for Chicago pollution.

Yahoo

04-03-2025

Imagine a southeastern Wisconsin with no cars, no buildings, no people and, as a result, no emissions.
An environmental utopia? Not according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Unfortunately, air pollutants don't recognize state lines and emissions originating from northern Illinois and Indiana are moving upwind along Lake Michigan. Case in point: Ozone level readings made in Racine show that only 3 percent of the emissions detected there are attributed to activity here in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin's air quality is actually better than ever recorded, but now the Clean Air Act's standards call for even greater air quality improvements than the region has realized over the last 30 years. It's causing big issues for our long-term economic outlook.
For decades, elevated ozone levels along the lake have prompted the EPA to designate all or parts of seven counties in southeastern Wisconsin – from Kenosha to Sheboygan – as non-attainment zones. This designation forces businesses to pay for costly pollution mitigation or, in some cases, limit operations to avoid triggering federal Clean Air Act requirements despite emissions not originating in Wisconsin.
An analogy: Imagine two men on a scale, one man weighs 200 pounds, the other 800 pounds. Essentially the EPA is grabbing the 200-pound man and telling him he needs to lose 500 lbs. for both to be healthy. The Clean Air Act never foresaw this scenario and it's time the issue was addressed.
Milwaukee and the area have been on a roll over the past several years. Billions of dollars in capital investment, highlighted by Microsoft's $3 billion-plus data center project in Racine County, have all signs pointing in a positive direction for economic development, job creation and all that goes with it.
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But that trajectory is at risk due to these unfair and outdated mandates originating in Washington. If the issue is not corrected, you can certainly bank on our leadership in the manufacturing sector eroding. This means fewer opportunities for this generation and those to follow.
Economic development is a competitive sport. Cities and their surrounding regions across the country are fighting tooth and nail for the same expansion, relocation and start-up activity we want to see in our region. It's a game of inches and any competitive disadvantage placed on our region is a disincentive to businesses looking to invest here. These more stringent regulations could mean the difference between a win and a loss.
So, what can we do? The Clean Air Act must be amended to hold the Milwaukee region harmless and, at the same time, the EPA and Wisconsin should collaboratively work with relevant parties in northern Illinois and Indiana on reducing their emissions.
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'Good Neighbor' laws are on the books but fail to have the teeth necessary to put enough pressure on the sources of emissions causing our increased ozone levels. The state of Wisconsin has filed suit arguing these rules aren't sufficiently stringent, but cases like this, and others across the U.S., have stalled. It's time for the Trump administration to hit the pause button on enforcement and for Congress to make better sense of the otherwise critically valued Clean Air Act.
As time grows short, MMAC and our coalition partners will fight for our business members and the economic climate in southeastern Wisconsin by advocating for policies to reduce upwind emissions. Our residents deserve to breathe clean air and our employers — and therefore our larger community — should not pay the price for a problem they don't own.
Dale Kooyenga is president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: EPA mandates threaten economic growth in Milwaukee region | Opinion