US: The US House of Representatives has introduced the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 (H.R. 2681). The proposal directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop 'achievable and workable standards' for the nation's cement manufacturing facilities and replace a series of complex rules affecting the sector that are projected to impose significant cost increases, forcing plant shutdowns and job losses. The bill was offered by a group of both Republican and Democrat Representatives from across the US.

Members introducing the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 issued the following statement, "Cement is essential for the construction of our nation's buildings, roads, bridges, tunnels and crucial water and wastewater treatment infrastructure. This is a sector that provides jobs here at home, jobs we could lose in the face of regulations that are technically or economically unachievable."

"The EPA's current rules threaten to shut down 20% of the nation's cement manufacturing plants in the next two years, sending thousands of jobs permanently overseas and driving up cement and construction costs across the country. Our goal is to ensure effective regulations that protect communities both environmentally and economically."

"This legislation would give the EPA time to develop achievable standards that protect public health without threatening jobs or the global competitiveness of America's industries. We look forward to working with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle and the administration to see this legislation become law."

The Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act would; 1) Provide EPA with at least 15 months to re-propose and finalise achievable rules for cement manufacturing facilities; 2) Extend compliance deadlines from three to at least five years to allow facilities adequate time to comply with standards and install necessary equipment; 3) Direct the EPA, when developing the new rules, to adopt definitions that allow cement-manufacturing plants to continue to use alternative fuels for energy recovery and; 4) Direct the EPA to ensure that new rules are achievable by cement manufacturing facilities in the US and impose the least burdensome regulatory alternatives consistent with the President's Executive Order 13563.

The new rule is in response to the EPA's three 'interrelated, complex rules' impacting the nation's 100 cement plants. While the EPA estimates that the MACT Cement Rule (dealing with hazardous pollutants in airbourne emissions) will impose USD2.2bn in total capital costs when it is introduced in 2013 but the Portland Cement Association (PCA) estimates that the capital costs for MACT could exceed USD3.4bn, more than half of the industry's annual income (USD6.52bn) and that the 'Standards of Performance and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units,' (CISWI) rules would impose costs of another USD2bn, causing 18 plants to close with the loss of 3000 - 4000 direct jobs and a further 12,000 - 19,000 in the wider construction sector.