Danger for the Endangerment Finding
With climate legislation stagnating in Congress, EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding initiated the agency’s ability, under the Clean Air Act (CAA), to regulate greenhouse gases from both mobile and stationary sources. In a power struggle between Congress and the Administration, EPA’s initiative to rein in emissions is not seen favorably by some members of Congress despite general recognition of a need to address climate change in the U.S.
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced a “disapproval” resolution in January 2010. With 41 co-sponsors for the disapproval resolution, there appears to be a reasonable chance the resolution, set for a vote on June 10, could pass the Senate and would then go to the House for vote. Senator Murkowski opposes EPA’s rule believing the CAA was not created to regulate greenhouse gases, and EPA should not “impose back-door climate regulations with no input from Congress.”
Senator Murkowski is not the only member of Congress disapproving of EPA’s actions to address climate change under the CAA. Other congressional initiatives include-
- Rockerfeller bill - blocks EPA for two years from regulating industrial sources but keeps the EPA tailpipe standard
- Voinivich bill - blocks federal government from regulating emissions outside of a climate bill
- Carper-Casey bill - protects small stationary sources from EPA’s climate rules but allows for regulation of larger sources similar to EPA’s recent tailoring rule
- Kerry-Lieberman bill - promotes cap-and-trade and prevents EPA from regulating emissions from industrial sources under many CAA programs.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson opposes the congressional initiatives because they undermine not only the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources, but also the recent final rule “Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards,” which soon reduces vehicle emissions from new cars and trucks.
After a recent suit brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, EPA agreed to study how states can address ocean acidification caused by carbon dioxide under the Clean Water Act (CWA). Should EPA start regulating greenhouse gases under the CWA, we can expect a similar potential power struggle between EPA and Congress.