News
EPA Proposes Greenhouse Gas Permitting Rules
August 12, 2010
The Hill
The Environmental Protection Agency is continuing to roll out more
greenhouse gas emission rules amid stalled debate in Congress and
numerous legal challenges to the agency's broader effort to regulate the
heat-trapping pollutants.
The agency Thursday proposed two rules aimed at helping businesses
get
permits for large new and expanded facilities that would fall
under emission restrictions that take effect in January.
EPA wants to mandate that permitting programs in 13 states
make
changes to cover greenhouse gas emissions, while other
states must review their existing permitting authority and tell the
agency if such
emissions are not covered.
The agency is also proposing a federal plan to implement a new
permitting program for these heat-trapping emissions to cover large
facilities that would be regulated beginning next year.
This is intended as a temporary measure until states revise their own
plans and assume permitting oversight.
“States are best-suited to issue permits to sources of GHG
emissions
and have long-standing experience working together with
industrial
facilities,” according to an EPA press
release.
EPA is holding a public hearing on this proposed rule Aug. 25, and
hopes to finalize both proposals before Jan. 2.
The Clean Air Act requires states to develop implementation plans
that
EPA must approve that include requirements for issuing air
permits.
Since these would be first-time federal requirements for
greenhouse
gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, states might
need to modify
their plans.
The proposed rules also essentially allow EPA to force permitting
oversight in states that do not comply with the agency’s
greenhouse
gas regulations.
“Today’s
rules will help ensure that these sources will be able to get
those permits regardless of where they are located,”
according to
EPA’s press release.
Texas recently joined 16 other court challenges to EPA’s
“tailoring”
rule — which was finalized in June
and is intended to limit greenhouse
gas limits to larger
facilities.
Alabama, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour
(R), South Carolina and Nebraska
filed a joint petition July 30
challenging the rule. The
Louisiana Department of Environmental
Quality filed a separate
lawsuit.
Industry groups challenging the rule
include the
American
Forest and Paper
Association, National
Association of Manufacturers, the American
Iron and Steel Institute and the Portland Cement Association.
Sierra Club filed a legal challenge despite its support for the
intent
of the rule and the timeline for regulating greenhouse gas
emissions from stationary sources. The group is concerned about the
precedent it could set for other pollutants.
The Center for Biological Diversity has also challenged it, arguing
it
exempts too many polluters.
