Energy

Thursday, May 13, 2010 2:29 PM

EPA Finalizes Tailoring Rule

By Amy Harder, NationalJournal.com

Updated at 3:05 p.m.

The EPA finalized its "tailoring rule" for greenhouse gases today, limiting regulation to large stationary emitters like power plants and oil refineries. But Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who has spearheaded efforts to strip the agency of its regulatory power, remains unsatisfied.

"It's the question of whether you regulate me now or regulate me later," Murkowski spokesman Robert Dillon said. The senator will continue to seek a vote on her disapproval resolution -- essentially a congressional veto of EPA greenhouse gas regulations -- by the June 7 deadline. The resolution has 41 co-sponsors, including Democrats Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. The resolution needs 51 votes to pass, but it very likely won't get the needed approval from President Obama.

EPA's announcement comes a day after Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I/D-Conn., unveiled their climate and energy package that would pre-empt EPA regulation. Kerry used the rule as a means to pressure senators to coalesce around his legislation.

"Those who have spent years stalling need to understand: Killing a Senate bill is no longer success," Kerry said in a statement. "And if Congress won't legislate a solution, the EPA will regulate one."

EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy told reporters on a conference call today that "even with all of this tailoring, it will cover stationary sources like power plants, petroleum refineries and cement factories that emit nearly 70 percent of [U.S. stationary sources'] greenhouse gas emissions."

The rule stems from the agency's endangerment finding, which determined that greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, endanger public health and welfare. Starting in January 2011, stationary sources that are already obtaining a Clean Air Act permit for other pollutants must include greenhouse gases in their permits if they emit at least 75,000 tons of these emissions a year. In July 2012, the rule would expand to include all new facilities that emit at least 100,000 tons a year.

Murkowski's gripe with EPA is that the agency could eventually target even the smallest emitters like farmers and residential buildings. McCarthy said today that the ruling takes that option off the table until at the earliest 2016, depending on the results of further EPA study.

McCarthy deflected a question about Murkowski's efforts, saying only that this "rule-making process has been underway for quite some time" and is no reflection of what action the senator is taking.

The pre-emption does not go far enough, Dillon said. While the bill does override the Clean Air Act's regulation of emissions, it doesn't include the Clean Water Act, National Environment Policy Act and other measures that "try to backdoor regulate climate," Dillon said. "Pre-emption is a starting point for a climate bill, it's non-negotiable."

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