Wednesday, April 7, 2010 2:38 PM
Don't Block EPA On Emissions, States Warn
By Amy Harder, NationalJournal.com
Attorneys general from several coastal states are urging the three senators crafting a climate and energy bill to ensure it doesn't block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases.
"Abandonment of the existing federal authority, prior to having new federal authority in place and functional, would be imprudent given the magnitude, complexity and time sensitivity of global warming," the top legal officials of Massachusetts, California, Delaware, Maine, Rhode Island, Maryland and Vermont said in a letter this week. Their call comes after more than a dozen states mounted legal challenges seeking to stop the EPA from regulating emissions.
At the same time, the attorneys general urge the senators to let states continue their own efforts to cut emissions. State progress is "potentially more valuable" since states took the lead on environmental efforts "over the last decade while action at the federal level was lacking," the officials write.
It is not yet clear whether a pre-emption clause will be included in the bill being crafted by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn. Industry groups have said it will be included, while environmental groups maintain that it's not yet decided. A bill is expected to be released during the week of Earth Day, April 22.
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