By Justin Williams, director, Affiliated Construction Trades WV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It’s probably well known, and it shouldn’t need to be said, but West Virginians just want to be able to go to work and do their jobs. What they don’t need is to worry about an overburdened agency slowing down the possibility of new jobs in construction and manufacturing.
Yet alongside those very real concerns, the Environmental Protection Agency has been proposing new regulations which target chemical manufacturers. These aggressive regulations would endanger the use of substances and chemistries which are vital to various industries, including the production of electric vehicles, construction, infrastructure, and others.
These regulations represent an increase in both number and expected economic impact – not only from the Trump Administration’s EPA, but from the Obama Administration as well. That’s why our elected officials need to focus on fair regulations and a full permitting reform to ensure a fair and predictable process. This will help ensure economic competitiveness, making a path for better jobs. That doesn’t mean we throw environmental concerns to the wayside, because that wouldn’t be right or fair. Fairness means not wanting unnecessary or over burdensome regulations coming out of federal agencies, like the EPA.
A fair process will ensure environmental protections are met as well as allowing for considerate economic development and job enhancement. Given how hesitant the public already is about the state of the economy, this has potential electoral ramifications if the public’s confidence is completely lost. Those with oversight responsibility over the EPA must act now to ensure that does not happen. Our workers and our communities deserve it for a better future.
