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EPA submits first federal greenhouse gas regulation proposal to White House

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a "Proposal for Endangerment Finding for Greenhouse Gases Under the Clean Air Act" to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), setting the stage for the first ever federal regulation of greenhouse gases. The proposal, which was submitted Friday and has not been made public, is expected to lead to a decision by President Barack Obama to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases under the federal Clean Air Act. Submission of an agency rule to OIRA for review is typically the final step in the federal administrative rulemaking process, and can be an indication that a rule is nearing public announcement. Environmental interest and advocacy groups called the EPA proposal groundbreaking and historic. The regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act has been the subject of considerable controversy and litigation in recent years. Earlier this month, the EPA held a hearing to reconsider California's request to regulate automobile greenhouse gases. The request had been denied by the EPA during the administration of former president George W. Bush. In July, a US House of Representatives report revealed that the Bush administration abandoned plans to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases on power plants and other stationary pollution sources after opposition from the oil industry. In April 2007, the US Supreme Court ruled that the EPA had the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate the emission of greenhouse gases by automobiles.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 25, 2009 (boomark / email).