EPA may regulate carbon dioxide under Clean Air Act

March 2, 2009 by Jennifer Brandt  
Filed under Science & Environment

February 18, 2009

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency said yesterday that it would reopen the possibility of regulating carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, tossing aside a December Bush administration memorandum that said the agency would not limit those emissions.

The decision could mark the first step toward the regulation of greenhouse gases emitted by coal plants, an issue that has been contested by the coal industry and environmentalists since April 2007, when the Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide should be considered a pollutant subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act.

The industry has vigorously opposed efforts to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, asserting that it should be left to policy set by Congress. Moreover, current technology for capturing such emissions is expensive and virtually untested.

Environmental groups, however, say that building new coal plants with conventional technology locks in new greenhouse gas emissions for the entire 30- to 40-year lifetimes of the power plants, making it difficult to slow climate change. They have been urging the Obama administration and state governments to use the Supreme Court ruling to block air permits for new coal-fired power plants and rely on renewable energy and energy efficiency to meet power needs.

In response to a Sierra Club petition over an air permit for a coal plant in Bonanza, Utah, EPA administrator Lisa Jackson said the agency would take a new look at the issue and solicit public comments.

Jackson did not issue a stay on the Bush administration memorandum and coal industry advocates found some hope in that.

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Source: Boston.com