Dear Administrator Jackson,

As a concerned citizen, I am requesting that you stop the EPA from banning barbeque grilling in North Carolina.

The outdoor grill is the key to North Carolina barbeque. There is true value in barbecue in North Carolina because it’s not only a tourism draw to the state, but festivals featuring barbecue benefit many local communities and charities. It’s hard to drive through rural North Carolina on a weekend and not find some church, fire department, rescue squad, club or school holding a barbecue fundraiser outside next to a grill.

And, of course, everyone has their favorite barbecue restaurant, many of which market their pit cooked barbecue. One thing you’ll notice about all of those great barbecue restaurants is that it brings together people from all walks of life. That’s a testament to the real value of barbecue in North Carolina; it truly crosses all divides.

But as much as North Carolina citizens enjoy good barbecue, most don’t realize the economic impact of pork in our state. Our state’s pork industry generated slightly less than $2 billion in farm cash receipts last year – that’s almost 25% of all farm income. We trade back and forth year to year with the broiler industry as the state’s #1 agricultural commodity.

And while most North Carolinians appreciate world-renown barbecue, not to mention the other pork products we all love, they don’t know that North Carolina’s pork industry is the base for more than 46,000 full-time jobs in our state. They don’t realize that livestock and poultry production, including pork production, is vitally important to North Carolina both now and in the future.

If the EPA’s dust regulations are enacted, North Carolina will feel the impact not only on weekends but economically.

Please revise your plan to not include outdoor grilling.

Sincerely,