White House Eases Pressure for Environmental Regulations

Washington --

The Obama White House Office of Management and Budget has conducted an interagency review moderating the effort by the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gases too soon. On April 17, the Environmental Protection Agency under the newly appointed leadership of Lisa Jackson proposed an “endangerment finding” that carbon dioxide, the main emission of the combustion of fossil fuels, be included as one of the “greenhouse gases” to be regulated as pollutants. The proposal was widely anticipated by environmental activists and big coal interests alike.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson

Citing concern that the EPA had not “undertaken a systematic risk analysis or cost-benefit analysis” when the proposed finding was released in April, the report from OMB said that “making the decision to regulate CO2 under the Clean Air Act for the first time is likely to have serious economic consequences for regulated entities throughout the U.S. economy, including small businesses and small communities.” The report signals the Obama administration’s understanding that regulatory “cap and trade” will have tremendous impact on the American economy.

The OMB’s review parallels Utah legislator Roger Barrus’ move earlier this year to amend his state’s energy policy “to determine the economic impacts of a proposed legislative or executive action involving climate change.” The Barrus bill was introduced because several districts in Utah include major coal mining interests concerned about potential impacts of the Western Climate Initiative and the development of alternative and renewable energy resources. When reached for comment, Barrus denied that his HB 412 would have provided a barrier to entry for green energy businesses in his state. “The bill was not primarily directed at the WCI,” said Barrus, “it was an effort to be certain that the state would not ‘rubber-stamp’ any regulation that would drastically change our energy security.”

Utah State Legislator Roger Barrus

The recent effort by President Obama’s Office of Management and Budget “certainly sends the message that, at this point in time, we have to pay close attention to the impacts of regulatory influence on the nation’s energy economy,” Barrus observed. He noted that in Utah, “…we have a significant portion of our economy that relies upon the development of coal and other fossil fuels for the nation’s energy needs.” He stated that before the introduction of his bill, the state may have been on a course to adopt specific regulations via the Western Climate Initiative that would have severely impacted some of the state’s energy businesses and local economies.

Barrus’ district 18 is north of Salt Lake City where a recent application for an emissions permit would have allowed a new power plant to burn refinery waste to generate electricity. That application received much opposition from the electorate and was recently withdrawn. Barrus’ House Bill 412 died a technical death in the waning days of the Utah legislative season, but proponents and other co-sponsors vowed to re-introduce it this fall, if required. With the recent acknowledgement of the Obama administration’s OMB, that may be less necessary now. “It’s important that each state have an opportunity to participate so that we have all the information to make correct decisions without regulatory disparities,” Barrus said.