EPA’s MATS Rollback Stalls At OMB Over Cost-Benefit Confusion, Opposition

EPA has been unable to finalize potentially threshold changes underlying the cost-benefit analysis of its Mercury & Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule because regulatory reviewers at the Office of Management & Budget (OMB) do not understand the measure’s broader goals, which is to narrow how benefits are calculated. OMB reviewers are also hearing a chorus of opposition from the utility industry, which long ago spent billions to comply with the rule. A senior White House official says OMB is likely...