Bill aims to give Congress time to act.
By Pam Kasey
StateJournal
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulation of greenhouse gases from stationary sources would be suspended for two years by a bill introduced Jan. 31 by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and colleagues.
“I’m proud that today we took important action to safeguard jobs, the coal industry and the entire economy as we move toward clean coal technology,” Rockefeller said.
Rockefeller was joined by Sens. Jim Webb, D-Va., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Ben Nelson, D-Neb. and Kent Conrad, D-N.D. in introducing the EPA Stationary Source Regulations Suspension Act.
A 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling obligated the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act if it found that the emissions endanger human health and welfare.
The agency made such a finding in 2009. Since that time, it has formulated rules to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles and, separately, from stationary sources — primarily coal-fired power plants.
Congress meanwhile worked to pre-empt the EPA’s blunt regulation with a broader, more finely tuned approach than the agency can achieve but, by late 2010, failed to pass legislation to control greenhouse gases.
The EPA’s regulations for stationary sources began kicking in Jan. 2. By the end of the year, new sources emitting at least 100,000 tons per year and modified sources emitting at least 75,000 tpy of greenhouse gases are required to use “best available control technologies” to limit emissions.
The agency estimates that its actions will apply to 1,600 sources annually.
Rockefeller’s bill responds to concerns that the regulation will harm the recovering economy, the coal industry in particular, at a time when clean coal and coal-to-liquids technologies are just coming about.
“Now is the time to encourage companies to invest in new technologies and create jobs, and we need a system that gives major employers the framework to do so and to succeed, Rockefeller said.
“We must give Congress enough time to consider a comprehensive energy bill to develop the clean coal technologies we need and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, protect West Virginia and improve our environment,” he said. “We can address emissions and secure a future for the U.S. coal industry, but we need the time to get it right and to move clean coal technology forward.”
Manchin said no agency should be allowed to regulate what has not been legislated.