Perdue, Bev. Press Release, 2011-01-28, Gov. Perdue Protects 50,000 Small Businesses from $1.3 Billion in Unnecessary Costs, Regulations

Beverly Eaves Perdue Governor State of North Carolina Office of the Governor 20301 Mail Service Center • Raleigh, NC 27699-0301 Jan. 28, 2011 Contact: Chris Mackey Office: (919) 733-5612 Gov. Perdue Protects 50,000 Small Businesses from $1.3 Billion in Unnecessary Costs, Regulations Executive Order tailors greenhouse gas rule to mirror federal requirements RALEIGH - Gov. Bev Perdue today took aetion to protect small businesses in North Carolina from unnecessary costs associated with recently implemented regulations on greenhouse gas pollutants. Business and environmental advocates praised the move as the right thing to do for North Carolina small businesses while still allowing stronger regulations for improving air quality. Executive Order #8 1 brings North Carolina in line with a federal tailoring rule that exempts smaller companies - those that emit a proportionally small amount of greenhouse gases - from the stricter requirements. A rule proposed by the Department of Natural Resources to take that aetion was recently blocked by letters submitted to the Rules Review Commission. In only the second time since she took office, Gov. Perdue overrode the rules review process by immediately implementing the rule through executive order. She took the unusual step in the interest of economic development, commerce and protecting the state’s small business community. On a national scale, the federal tailoring rule excludes more than 2 million small sources from permitting requirements and avoids $54 billion per year in costs, according to the EPA. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources estimates that implementing North Carolina’s tailoring rule excludes about 50,000 small greenhouse gas sources from permitting and avoids about $ 1.3 billion per year in costs. “Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and they are fighting to stay alive during this economic downturn. I simply cannot stand by and watch these businesses get hit with ridiculous costs for no good reason,” said Gov. Perdue. “We must focus our resources and efforts where the largest environmental impact will be felt and the requirements can be met in a