EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 26, 2011. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 - Provides that the following rules shall have no force or effect and shall be treated as though they had never taken effect: (1) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters; (2) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers; (3) the Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units; and (4) Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That are Solid Waste.

Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in place of such rules, to promulgate and finalize on the date that is 15 months after the date of the enactment of this Act regulations for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator units subject to such rules, that: (1) establish maximum achievable control technology standards, performance standards, and other requirements for hazardous air pollutants or solid waste combustion under the Clean Air Act; and (2) identify non-hazardous secondary materials that, when used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units of such boilers, heaters, or incinerator units, are solid waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for purposes of determining the extent to which such combustion units are required to meet emission standards for such pollutants under such Act. Requires the Administrator to establish a date for compliance with standards and requirements under such regulations, which shall be no earlier than five years after such a regulation's effective date, after considering compliance costs, non-air quality health and environmental impacts and energy requirements, the feasibility of implementation, the availability of equipment, suppliers, and labor, and potential net employment impacts.

Treats the date on which the Administrator proposes such a regulation establishing an emission standard as the proposal date for purposes of applying the definition of a "new source" to hazardous air pollutants requirements or of a "new solid waste incineration unit" to solid waste combustion requirements under the Clean Air Act.

Requires the Administrator, in promulgating such regulations, to: (1) adopt the definitions of "commercial and industrial solid waste incineration unit," "commercial and industrial waste," and "contained gaseous material" in the rule entitled Standards for Performance of New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units; (2) identify non-hazardous secondary material to be solid waste only if the material meets such definitions; (3) ensure that emissions standards for existing and new sources can be met under actual operating conditions consistently and concurrently with emission standards for all other air pollutants regulated by the rule for the source category, taking into account variability in actual source performance, source design, fuels, inputs, controls, ability to measure the pollutant emissions, and operating conditions; and (4) impose the least burdensome regulatory alternative.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov