Washington Post: Lawmakers move to restrain EPA on climate change

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/04/AR2010030404715.html

Lawmakers move to restrain EPA on climate change

By Juliet Eilperin and David A. Fahrenthold
Friday, March 5, 2010

As climate change legislation stalled in the Senate, the Obama administration noted that it had a workable -- although admittedly unwieldy -- Plan B. If Congress wouldn't cap U.S. emissions, officials said, the Environmental Protection Agency would do it instead.

Now, even Plan B may be in trouble.

On Thursday, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) introduced a bill that would put a two-year freeze on the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants. His was the latest of various congressional proposals -- from both chambers and both parties -- designed to delay or overturn the EPA's regulations.

It is unclear how far Rockefeller's bill will go. Even if it passed, it could face a presidential veto. But environmentalists are worried that the measure could attract moderate Democrats, who are worried, in turn, about driving up the prices of fossil fuels such as oil and coal.

...

[OKIsItJustMe]

1. ROCKEFELLER INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO SUSPEND EPA ACTION AND PROTECT CLEAN COAL STATE ECONOMIES

http://rockefeller.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=322764&

March 4, 2010

ROCKEFELLER INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO SUSPEND EPA ACTION AND PROTECT CLEAN COAL STATE ECONOMIES

Legislation Calls for Two Year Suspension of EPA Action On Greenhouse Gas Regulations to Protect Jobs and Coal Industry

Washington, D.C.—Senator John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV today introduced legislation to suspend potential Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation of greenhouse gases from stationary sources for two years.

“Today, we took important action to safeguard jobs, the coal industry, and the entire economy as we move toward clean coal technology,” said Senator Rockefeller. “This legislation will issue a two year suspension on EPA regulation of greenhouse gases from stationary sources—giving Congress the time it needs to address an issue as complicated and expansive as our energy future. Congress, not the EPA, must be the ideal decision-maker on such a challenging issue.

“Two weeks ago, I sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson challenging EPA’s potential regulation of greenhouse gases. Administrator Jackson responded quickly and showed some willingness to move the agency’s timetable for regulation to the end of 2010. This is a positive change and good progress, but I am concerned it may not be enough time. We must set this delay in stone and give Congress enough time to consider a comprehensive energy bill to develop the clean coal technologies we need. At a time when so many people are hurting, we need to put decisions about clean coal and our energy future into the hands of the people and their elected representatives, not a federal environmental agency.”

Congressman Nick Rahall (D-WV) is introducing the House of Representatives companion legislation, with Reps. Alan Mollohan (D-WV) and Rick Boucher (D-VA) as original cosponsors.

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http://rockefeller.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm">E-mail Senator Rockefeller

[Dogmudgeon]

2. We need to give West Virginia an "escape hatch"

The state is both poor and utterly dependent on coal mining. The "escape hatch" does not have to be a set of exemptions, but new energy and/or mining options: wind turbines on mountain ridge crests, nuclear energy for Appalachia, high-tech, low-impact rare-earth mining for the electronics industry, deep-rock CO2 storage (if it's possible). I'm sure the underlying Marcellus Shale will be mined for natural gas, though I'd prefer that to be a stopgap measure only. The federal government could incentivize new businesses by offering tax breaks in exchange for well-paying jobs. There are probably many more other possibilities I've overlooked.

We are probably also going to have to deal with coal for some decades yet, though I do not like it. Even http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/energy-revolution-a-sustainab">Greenpeace is willing to allow coal-fired energy generation for as long as the next 50 years. West Virginia, and other impacted areas, should be used to produce the last of the coal while transitioning to new technologies.

Our plans to change over to low-carbon energy will be able to happen much more quickly if some flexibility is built-in. Since the program is likely to be decades long and cost trillions of dollars, there will be many opportunities to "tweak" and "leverage" what we have at our disposal. And there's no time to begin like now.

--d!