WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) called out the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its refusal to allow Arkansas to revise its plan to comply with federal air regulations that continue to be a moving target.

“The EPA is great until you disagree with them,” Boozman said at a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing. “They talk about federal cooperation, but once you disagree then it tends to be their way.” 

Boozman expressed his frustration with EPA’s rulemaking process that’s making it impossible for Arkansas and other states to comply with misguided air regulations.

“For it to be fair nationwide, then again, the states need to have the ability to be part of that decision-making and that hasn’t been the case in Mississippi and Arkansas,” Boozman said. “That’s not appropriate.”

Arkansas submitted its proposal in 2019. Last month, Arkansas filed a lawsuit challenging the EPA’s rejection of its State Implementation Plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act. Boozman and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) blasted the agency’s decision and vowed to support the state’s efforts to appeal the move.

It’s estimated that nearly 50 Arkansas businesses will be at risk of closure as a result of the onerous federal plan’s implementation.