On August 3rd, the Obama Administration and U.S. EPA released the much-anticipated final Clean Power Plan designed to curtail greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change.  The regulations promise to be the most comprehensive, complex and costly regulatory program ever launched without specific authorization from Congress.   

How the Plan Works

The final plan calls

Last month, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected challenges to U.S. EPA’s Tailoring Rule which establishes the permitting threshold for greenhouse gas (GHG) pollutants.  On July 3rd, EPA issued a rulemaking that will maintain the current GHG thresholds for the immediate future.  The question is how long before environmental groups push EPA to lower the thresholds?

On March 28th, U.S. EPA released its highly controversial rulemaking which establishes a carbon dioxide (CO2) emission limit on new coal-fired power plants.  All future coal-fired power plants will have to utilize an unproven technology, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), to meet the emission limits.  CCS involves capturing CO2 and injecting it deep beneath the earth’s

On February 24th, U.S. EPA announced that it would keep in tact the greenhouse gas (GHGs) thresholds for when federal permitting requirements would be triggered.  In announcing that it would not ratchet down the trigger thresholds, EPA said state permitting authorities need more time to develop proper infrastructure as well as expertise in GHG permitting.

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court released their opinion in AEP v. Connecticut  in which the Court held that the Clean Air Act ("CAA") and the EPA actions on regulating greenhouse gas emissions displaced any federal common-law right to seek greenhouse gas emission reductions.  The suit was filed by Eastern States and non-profit land groups against coal-fired power plants in

As Congress failed to pass climate change legislation, U.S. EPA will begin regulating greenhouse gases (GHGs) using its existing authority under the Clean Air Act.  Beginning 2011, major sources of GHGs will be required to analyze methods for reducing emissions when seeking federal permits for expansion or construction of new sources. 

When is a federal review of GHGs

Greenhouse Gas Regulation Commences January 2, 2011 without Legislation

On May 13, 2010, EPA finalized its regulatory approach for control greenhouse gases (GHGs) from large stationary sources.  As discussed in prior posts, the statutory thresholds for triggering EPA’s New Source Review program (NSR) are 100/250 tons per year of a regulated Clean Air Act pollutant. 

As