Posted on 12/09/2013 6:57:05 AM PST by rktman
.....So congratulations, EPA! Once again you have driven a domestic company out of business, costing American jobs in the process, only to add to the world's net toxic pollution load. This seems to be one thing the Obama administration excels at.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Was the Doe Run smelter a supplier of lead to ammunition makers? If yes, then you know it’s part of back-door gun control.
People said that when I posted this story a week or so ago too. Maybe it’s the price we pay for getting rid of a company that treats the environment with contempt, and as I’ve pointed out to my liberal pals many times, having clean air and water and “conserving” natural resources are absolutely “conservative” ideas. I’ll wait to see what happens, but it seems that when you remove a primary smelter from the industry by regulatory action and force ammo makers to rely on recycled and imported lead, it can’t help but have an impact on price. But I could be wrong.
And maybe, like the 30 year exemption granted to wind farms over eagle deaths, it’s part of the price we have to pay to achieve other goals.
Those “other goals” to a leftist are primarily centered around thinking of themselves as “good people”, and secondarily about being superior to those who “don’t care as much”.
BTW, they provide backup to the ammo manufacturers - word is that their backup support will be tapering next year as the primary manufacturers have been able to catch up on production. I'm hoping it will last a little longer...it's been paying the bills.
This is the news/press release from Sierra Bullets. Don’t know about other manufacturers:
In any case, this reminds me of slippery slope activity. They (epa) will eventually drive secondary smelters/refiners out of business too. May just take a while.
Lead ore will continue to be mined in Missouri and other states. Smelters exist in Canada and Mexico. Scrappers collect batteries and old wheel weights and can move those supplies into the market without smelting. If the price goes up, someone will build a new smelter to modern air quality standards.
In regard to Herculaneum, I should add I used to travel the river road, calling on industrial customers in Missouri and Illinois. The air over the smelter was almost always a peculiar orange color. The taste of metal in the air was unmistakable.
My wife, an avid gun enthusiast, was rather worried about this, until she found out that almost all bullets for ammo are made from recycled lead.
It’s not quite as bad as it could be right now.
(We’re still stocking up on ammo anyway)
Found another link via the NRA. I know not everybody is enamored with them but the info may help ease some fear.
Maybe if the smelter were to start killing eagles they could get an EPA exemption.
I don't know -- the figure I heard for compliance cost was $100MM. Course some of that may have been for remediation, and it might also be cheaper to build a new plant than retrofit an old one, but still. Lead's going to have to go WAY up for that to work.
Plus, even if it did become worth it, what's to stop the hacks at EPA from waiting for them to spend their money building the plant, then arbitrarily and capriciously lower the standard by 90% again or whatever just to waste THOSE guys' money?
I agree, so long as the EPA standards are the least restrictive that will give adequate results. If they can create whatever regulations they want, arbitrarily, with no basis and no accountability, it’s possible to create a situation the free market can’t correct for.
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