On February 24th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA– the case which challenges EPA’s attempt to phase in permitting requirements for sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs). In the end, the case may be much to do about nothing…except another example of how congressional gridlock prevents logical resolutions
Climate Change
Reality Check: Impact of President Obama’s Climate Change Initiative on Coal Fired Power Plants
On September 30th, the Congressional Research Service released a very interesting report titled "EPA Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Power Plants: Many Questions, Some Answers." The report was prepared as a review of the effect of recent new Clean Air Act regulations on existing and future coal fired power plants.
How New…
Is the Hot Summer Breathing New Life into Addressing Climate Change?
It is an issue that just won’t go away…Our incredibly hot summer seems to have re-focused attention on doing something regarding climate change.
James E. Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, in Friday’s Washington Post, announced the release of a new study. The title of Mr. Hansen’s op-ed piece shows what the …
EPA Maintains Tailoring Rule Thresholds for Greenhouse Gas Permitting…But the Clock is Ticking
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?
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Court Validates EPA’s Approach to Regulating Greenhouse Gases….What is next?
In perhaps the biggest environmental decision in decades, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld all aspects of EPA’s complex regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Each piece of EPA regulation was controversial, yet the Court validated the overall approach paving the way for future action by EPA.
Flashback several years ago, when the Obama Administration stated…
Cheap Gas Fosters EPA Carbon Cap on Future Coal Plants
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…
EPA Decides Not to Ratchet Down Federal Permitting Thresholds for Greenhouse Gases
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.…
Court Hears Two Days of Oral Argument over the Future of Climate Change Regulation
The future direction of climate change regulation in the United States will turn on the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Court of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) following two days of oral argument. A decision is expected as soon as this June.. There is no doubt that this may be the most…
Next Round of EPA Rules and Litigation Involving Regulation of CO2
In early November, the EPA sent to OMB the next significant regulation governing greenhouse gas emissions. Under the latest rule, EPA would establish CO2 emission standards for new and modified coal-fired power plants.
The new rule is titled the Greenhouse Gas New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) for Electric Utility Steam Generating Units. The NSPS standards are based…
Supreme Court Bars Federal Nuisance Climate Change Suit
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…