The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a beating from conservative Louisiana lawmakers.

Rep. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) criticized the new EPA regulations to lower its ground-level ozone standard later this year, which may in return prove to be detrimental to the state.

“I have frequently said that EPA’s proposed regulations have the potential to harm Louisiana’s economy, which is to say regulations will destroy jobs,” said Cassidy.  “Our first priority should be creating and preserving new jobs.”

“Chemical manufacturing is Louisiana’s 2^nd largest manufacturing industry and currently employs nearly 23,000 in its production facilities across the state.”

Cassidy said that “according to the most recent estimates, there are 181 announced new manufacturing projects in the chemical sector, with a total investment value of $115.7 billion.  Of those projects, 39, or nearly one fourth, are in Louisiana, representing a $28.6 billion investment and an estimated 8,000 new direct jobs. We should be working to make these projects a reality.”

Cassidy said that the current permitting process is full of delays and uncertainty and that with the new EPA regulations, there will be even more uncertainty.

According to Cassidy, the EPA regulations threaten the state’s manufacturing renaissance.

“These regulations will drive billions of dollars in new costs and will raise electricity prices in many parts of the country,” said Cassidy.

“For Louisiana, EPA is reportedly proposing a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between 2012 and 2030,” said Cassidy.  “If the Obama EPA is allowed to proceed unchecked with this rule, it will have an impact on electricity prices and certainly jeopardize job growth in Louisiana.”

Cassidy said he has introduced legislation, titled the “Energy Consumers Relief Act”, which would

I introduced a bill, the “Energy Consumers Relief Act,” which would serve as a “Congressional check on the current out of control executive authority over at the EPA—which is pursuing a series of billion-dollar energy related rules, including last week’s power plant proposal.”

As the Hayride reported, the EPA regulations will likely close this Louisiana Peach Orchard. And just in the state, the new federal ozone standard could put 117,000 job equivalents at risk annually and cost the state’s businesses $189 billion in added compliance costs, according to a study by NERA Economic Consulting for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

A stricter ozone standard could also reduce U.S. Gross Domestic Product by as much as $3.4 trillion through 2040 and dramatically increase energy costs across all sectors.

Cassidy appeared on WBRZ later on to talk about the EPA regulations. Watch it here: