EPA's Power Before the American Power Act and the Clean Air Act

It appears that there is some language within the new American Power Act that seeks to dampen the power of the EPA as written into the Clean Air Act. The latter is seen as a very successful piece of legislation, dating back to 1970, but in the judgment handed down by the Supreme Court in 2007, the EPA was granted powerful authority to regulate carbon emissions as part of that Act.

Critics of legislation passed by the House of Representatives to deal with climate change have made their voices heard during composition of the American Power Act. Specifically, as it appears that the EPA is ready to introduce regulation to curb stationary sources of carbon emissions, some members of Congress want new legislation to be written to pre-empt it.

It appears that there is some language within the new American Power Act that seeks to dampen the power of the EPA as written into the Clean Air Act. The latter is seen as a very successful piece of legislation, dating back to 1970, but in the judgment handed down by the Supreme Court in 2007, the EPA was granted powerful authority to regulate carbon emissions as part of that Act.

The American Power Act stipulates that the EPA does not have to burden the power of the Clean Air Act to the major emitters of carbon like the larger factories and power plants. Critics have cited this regulatory potential to be a "backdoor" way for the Administration to effectively tax energy use and carbon emissions.

Included in the American Power Act is a cap and rebate provisions that deals with the producers of energy and some other provisions which deal with threats to climate. While the political climate itself is far from palatable, the damaging events of the Gulf oil spill are prompting public opinion to push for legislation to curb energy usage. Many are calling for significant taxation on fossil fuels and investment in alternative sources of energy.

Pres. Obama has stated that the US will reduce carbon emissions by 83% in 40 years. The American Power Act grants authority for such in the Environmental Protection Agency. Without such legislation it is very unlikely that regulation as part of the Clean Air Act would achieve anywhere near that kind of reduction.

There seems to be a closing window of opportunity in the summer of 2010. Despite the events that happened in the Gulf of Mexico, the Congress still does not pay that much of an attention to the issue. It would seem obvious that the legislation shall need to be addressed in the near future should the promises made by the Pres. Obama to the listening world are to be kept.

In the event that the Congress would not successfully pass the climate bill in 2010, the EPA would now need to follow through with a regulation that curtails carbon emissions from emitters that are stationary. This would appear to be the least of the palatable options, but everything points to an additional premium on the cost of conventional energy, sure to be passed along to businesses of every size.

Every business in the US would have to target carbon emissions reduction. Unrestricted energy use is fast becoming a sore subject and organizations that are not seen to be proactive risk damage to their reputations, quite apart from additional costs associated with an indirect or direct carbon tax.