BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. Doug Burgum today joined 21 fellow governors in a letter urging U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to pause implementation of a new EPA rule tightening limits on fine particles in the air until the states’ concerns can be addressed.

“This one-size-fits-all rule is the wrong approach and particularly burdensome to states like North Dakota where air quality is frequently degraded by wildfire smoke from western states and Canada that is beyond our control,” Burgum said. “North Dakota currently meets all federal and state ambient air quality standards, showing that individual states are best positioned to understand and address the unique situations affecting their air quality. This new EPA standard ignores the progress made in reducing particulate matter over the last 20 years and threatens to drive up costs for industry and consumers and damage our economy. We strongly urge the EPA to put the brakes on this rule until our concerns can be addressed and we can find a balanced approach that protects the environment, the economy and our citizens.”

In addition to Burgum, the letter was signed by the governors of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.