The Obama administration is pushing forward on all fronts toward the January 2 rollout of new climate change rules, in a series of moves set to inflame GOP opposition and shore up support from President Obama’s environmental base.
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected this morning to announce a timetable for major polluters, such as power plants and oil refineries, to comply with new regulations on their greenhouse-gas emissions. The timetable emerged in a settlement between the agency and a group of state attorneys general.
The agency is also expected today to announce that it will take action against the one state that has bucked it at every turn: Texas. While 17 states are now suing EPA over the coming climate rules, 16 of those states are also working with the agency to find ways to comply with the rules in the meantime. States unable to comply can opt for what experts call a “friendly FIP [federal implementation program]” in order to bypass punitive measures.
Texas, the nation’s biggest polluter, is opting for the unfriendly approach. It’s the only state that has not submitted any plan for compliance -- and it’s made clear it has no intention of doing so.
So the federal government is stepping in. On Tuesday, EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy wrote to Texas Environmental Quality Commissioner Bryan Shaw, saying that by December 23 -- today -- the agency expected to take action usurping the state’s authority to issue greenhouse-gas pollution permits.
“The unwillingness of Texas state officials to implement this portion of the federal program leaves EPA no choice but to resume its role as the permitting authority, in order to assure that business in Texas are not subject to delays or potential legal challenges and are able to move forward with planned construction and expansion projects that will create jobs otherwise benefit the nation’s economy,” McCarthy wrote.
In a statement, the Texas environmental agency shot back, “This is an arrogant act by an overreaching EPA that is trying to implement new, unnecessary controls on American industry that will have no positive environmental affect, but will drive up prices paid by consumers for energy and for almost all goods and services they purchase.”
The fiery exchange is just a preview of the explosive battle to come in the new year and the new Congress, as emboldened Republicans prepare to attack EPA’s new regulatory authority on climate as a prime symbol of what they view as government overreach.
The agency’s moves seem to signal that the Obama administration is ready for the fight -- and hopes to score political points of its own.
“They EPA moves -- they are flexing their muscles,” said Kevin Book, managing director of the consulting firm Clearview Energy Partners. “EPA has become an activist on the Texas refining sector. It’s one of the safest political moves the Obama administration could make. They were never going to win Texas in 2012 anyway. The base of the Democratic party will only reward the administration for this decision.”
The climate rules have been among the most politically difficult moves for the administration. Obama came into office with a sweeping energy and climate change agenda, which he hoped to move through Congress. But as the legislation stalled, EPA released a finding that greenhouse gases endanger human health, triggering a requirement of new regulations under the Clean Air Act, with or without legislation -- a nightmare scenario for many industries and Republicans in Congress. The strategy had been to prod Congress to act before the rules kicked in -- an effort that failed spectacularly this summer when a Senate climate bill went down in flames.
Now the White House must follow through on what administration officials always conceded was a plan B -- and has become a ripe political target for Republicans.
Leading the charge against the climate regulations in the new GOP-led House will be Rep. Darrell Issa of California, incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who says he intends to haul EPA chief Lisa Jackson before his committee repeatedly for questioning on the new rules. "Rep. Issa is disappointed by EPA’s refusal to appropriately and thoroughly consider regulations that will undoubtedly kill more jobs in an already struggling economy,” wrote his spokesman, Kurt Bardella, in an e-mail to National Journal on Wednesday. “The fact is there are serious questions about EPA's decision to move forward with these job killing regulations that will usurp power from states -- violating the principals of federalism that are the backbone of the clean air act. EPA's actions will also impose a defacto building moratorium that comes at the expense of thousands of jobs."
Meanwhile, the administration has come under fire from environmentalists, who feared the administration would back down from new regulations under the attack of Republicans. Many in that camp said they are pleased by today’s moves.
“We think it’s a very positive step,” said Frank O’Donnell, president of the advocacy group Clean Air Watch.
“We think it shows that states are not backing down -- they are telling EPA they want real action on greenhouse-gas emissions from the biggest stationary sources.”
Close observers of the EPA say more announcements may be coming next week, signaling that while the administration is pressing forward in its plans to roll out environmental regulations, it may try to subdue the impact of that news.
“The time when the most controversial energy and environmental announcements will occur will be between Christmas and New Year's,” said Book. “They’ll release them and let the shots fly where they may. Any bitter pills are going to come while people have sugar plums in their heads.”
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