Comment on FR Doc # 2012-18653

The proposed Particulate Matter standard is yet another example of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) forcing expensive mandates on states, coal-based electricity and the mining community. EPA is rushing to judgment with this rule, and has entered into a consent decree with environmental groups against the best interests of the public. Designation as a non-attainment area for PM2.5 has immediate and potentially severe consequences for local jurisdictions in the form of straining already thin local resources while simultaneously driving away manufacturing and investment. Restrictive regulations such as this one discourage industrial and commercial activity in and around a non-attainment area. This will stifle job growth in a business's local community. The resulting reductions in property tax collections will also impair localities' capacity to provide crucial services like public safety and education. EPA's proposed rule will also impact the mining community through stricter nonattainment standards, the retention of an overly stringent limit for coarse particulates, and the impossibly dense secondary visibly standard. I urge EPA to withdraw and reconsider the proposed Particulate Matter standard.