EPA Claims Authority to Regulate Emissions of Carbon Dioxide

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson yesterday announced that carbon dioxide endangers the public health under the Clean Air Act and is therefore subject to EPA regulation.  USA Today (12/8, Vergano) reports that the EPA ruling gave “the Obama administration power to regulate smokestack and tailpipe emissions that feed global warming,” explaining that it “covers six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide.”  The AP (12/8, Hebert, Cappiello) reports the “price could be steep for both industry and consumers.”  But McClatchy (12/8, Schoof) reports that it “probably would be years before new EPA rules took effect for existing coal-fired power plants.”  Still, the Los Angeles Times (12/8, Tankersley) reports the finding “will allow the EPA to proceed with tough new vehicle emissions standards and a proposal to regulate factory and power-plant emissions.”  In response, the Washington Times (12/8, Felker) reports “Business, farm and oil organizations decried what they called a misguided step that will raise consumer energy bills during economic turmoil.”
EPA Ruling Feared To Have Negative Impact On Coal Industry.  McClatchy (12/8, Abdullah, Hjalmarson) reports that the EPA’s declaration “could deeply impact Kentucky’s coal economy.”  Rep. Hal Rogers warned that the declaration would give the EPA the power to “tell coal-burning utilities how much, or little, coal can be burned,” adding, “It could prove devastating to Kentucky’s coal industry.”  David Gooch, president of Coal Operators & Associates Inc. in Pikeville, Kentucky, said that “the coal industry suffers when overly stringent environmental regulations are put in place.”
WVNS-TV Ghent, WV (12/8, Hupp) reports on its website that the EPA’s announcement “has caused mixed reactions in West Virginia,” as “the EPA has already pulled several mountaintop mining permits throughout the state under provisions in the Clean Water Act, leaving some to fear this announcement may destroy the coal industry in the state.”  In response, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, one of the state’s two Democratic senators, said in a statement, “This action today reinforces the need for Congress to pass a climate bill to protect coal jobs and to help the industry transition to the future,” adding, “If we do nothing, the EPA will act unilaterally, and more jobs may be lost.”
Arkansas News (12/8, Lyon) reports a Sierra Club spokesman said that the EPA’s ruling “is bad news for an energy company seeking a permit to build a new coal-fired power plant in Arkansas, but the company says the permitting process won’t be affected.”  Glen Hooks, senior regional representative for the Sierra Club, which opposes the plant proposed by Southwestern Electric Power Co., said, “I can’t think of any way that today’s news is anything but bad news for the coal industry.”  However, Scott McCloud, spokesman for SWEPCO parent company American Electric Power, said that “today’s ruling by the EPA will have no immediate impact on the permitting process” for its proposed $1.6 billion, 600-megawatt power plant, adding “EPA’s action isn’t a surprise.”