Washington Post:
The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that it would regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and oil refineries next year, targeting the nation's two biggest sources of carbon dioxide.
The move, which comes as part of a legal settlement with several states, local governments and environmental groups which have sued EPA under the Bush administration for failing to act, highlights the Obama administration's intent to press ahead with curbs on carbon despite congressional resistance.
Collectively, electric utilities and oil refineries account for almost 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions: Under the agreement, EPA will propose new performance standards for power plants in July 2011 and for refineries in December 2011 and will issue final standards in May 2012 and November 2012, respectively.
...
Texans were not to happy about the move according to the
Houston Chronicle:
...The federal Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday effectively declared Texas unfit to regulate its own greenhouse gas emissions and took over carbon dioxide permitting of any new or expanding industrial facilities starting Jan. 2.
The EPA also set up a framework for regulating greenhouse gas emissions in seven other states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon and Wyoming. In addition, the agency set a timetable on establishing regulated levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
The action will give the EPA permitting authority over refineries, power plants and cement facilities in Texas, the agency said, but will not affect small pollution source facilities, such as restaurants and farms.
Environmentalists praised the EPA for taking action to make the nation's air cleaner and to protect the ozone layer. But industry groups and Gov. Rick Perry's office said the EPA takeover will create unnecessary restrictions that could cost jobs.
...
EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz, in a letter to industry, said the EPA will take permitting away from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Jan. 2, 2011. Armendariz said 167 permits that are pending or are about to be filed will be affected by the order.
...
Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said the state's lawsuit against the EPA is continuing in an effort to prove the agency never was given authority by Congress to regulate greenhouse gases.
"The EPAs misguided plan paints a huge target on the backs of Texas agriculture and energy producers by implementing unnecessary, burdensome mandates on our state's energy sector, threatening hundreds of thousands of Texas jobs and imposing increased living costs on Texas families," Cesinger said.
She said the state's flexible air quality permitting system led to a 22 percent reduction in ozone and a 53 percent decrease in nitric oxide emissions since 2000.
...
Congress needs to rein in the current EPA. It should start by denying funding for this regulation and making clear that it has not authorized the agency to regulate so called greenhouse gases. Texas will have to fight this in the courts and in Congress.
Image via Wikipedia
Comments
Post a Comment