WHEREAS, EPA has released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which describes a nationwide scheme to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act; and
WHEREAS, ALEC has previously stated its opposition to EPA regulating greenhouse gases[1]; and
WHEREAS, ALEC has also previously stated that if EPA were to pursue such a course, at the very least, it would require additional action from Congress clarifying and specifying EPA’s legal and regulatory obligations with respect to greenhouse gases[2]; and
WHEREAS, EPA’s plan to regulate greenhouse gases is very expansive in scope, envisioning a nationwide cap and trade program for greenhouse gases, additional motor vehicle regulations and economy-wide restrictions impacting a wide range of industries including dairy and beef operations, office buildings, hospitals, schools, large homes, houses of worship, and even regulating the greenhouse gas emissions from lawnmowers, among other things; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has recently ruled that the EPA does not have authority to carry out a cap and trade plan under the Clean Air Act[3]; and
WHEREAS, EPA’s plan represents policymaking which is the prerogative of the legislative branch; and
WHEREAS, even committed proponents of ambitious greenhouse gas regulation have expressed doubts about the ANPR’s approach[4]; and
WHEREAS, climate change is a global issue, not a local or regional pollution issue as the Clean Air Act was designed to address; and
WHEREAS, EPA’s plan would impose a massive economic burden on America without appreciably reducing worldwide concentrations of greenhouse gases; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that EPA should not make an endangerment finding for greenhouse gases and should not pursue regulation of greenhouse gases.
Approved by the ALEC Board of Directors on September 11, 2008.
[1] See American Legislative Exchange Council, Resolution in Opposition to EPA’s Regulation of Greenhouse Gases from Mobile Sources, (2007).
[2]Id.
[3]North Carolina v. EPA, No. 05-1244, DC Cir., July 11, 2008.
[4] Darren Samuelsohn, Whether it’s McCain or Obama, Washington preps for ’09 warming debate, Environment and Energy Daily, July, 29, 2008.
Keyword Tags: Clean Air Act, EPA, greenhouse gas, Regulation