Ian Talley
The Wall Street Journal
3/30/2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that power plants, refineries and other businesses emitting large amounts of carbon dioxide won’t be required to file for emissions permits before January 2011, confirming a decision the agency signaled last month.
EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has faced strong pressure in recent months from state regulators, lawmakers and various industry groups to delay moves to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from steel mills, cement kilns, the petroleum industry and other stationary sources. States said they lacked the necessary resources to handle an expected boost in permitting, while businesses said they needed time to prepared for the new rules.
Businesses are worried about the potential costs of monitoring and curbing emissions of greenhouse gases—those believed to contribute to global warming—which the EPA is moving to regulate under the Clean Air Act.
The Obama administration is expected to announce later this week final rules for regulating carbon dioxide from cars and trucks—effectively increasing the average fuel economy target for vehicle fleets to 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The standard for model year 2011, which begins officially this fall, is 27.3 miles per gallon. Most major auto makers have already agreed to the higher 2016 target, as part of a deal to block California and other states from establishing their own vehicle fuel-efficiency targets.
The entire article is at WSJ.
