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VOLUME 2
The U.S. EPA and The New Administration – Aligned on Climate Change?
In the first of a series of articles on the Obama Administration’s environmental plan, EHS Support examines the Administration’s top environmental priority – Climate Change; and if the initial steps proposed by the U.S. EPA in the Fall 2008 Semi-Annual Regulatory Plan are aligned with the Administration’s top priority.
President Obama indicated that climate change will be a top priority of his Administration, and his actions prior to taking office and during the first weeks of his presidency appear to underscore his commitment to this priority. As her first act in office, the new Administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), Lisa P. Jackson, sent a memorandum to all U.S. EPA employees identifying “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions” as the first of five top priorities that will receive her personal attention. [1] The former Bush Administration and the U.S. EPA have been criticized for doing too little to address climate change. However, under the Bush Administration, the U.S. EPA took some initial steps to address climate change. These steps are presented in the Fall 2008 Regulatory Agenda, and some of these steps appear to be in line with the new Administration’s goals.
Goals of the Administration and Initial Steps by U.S. EPA
The Obama-Biden Environmental Plan identifies a goal of reducing carbon emissions 80-percent by 2050 through the implementation of a market-based cap-and-trade system. [2] The plan provides some details as to how the cap-and-trade system would operate; however, it does not indicate if the system would be implemented and enforced by the U.S. EPA. Based on the Fall 2008 Regulatory Agenda, the U.S. EPA currently does not have any prerule or proposed rulemaking that directly address such a system.
The environmental plan also indentifies investing in a clean energy economy, investing in energy efficiency, and making the U.S. a leader in combating climate change as ways to address climate change. In the 2008 Fall Regulatory Plan, the U.S. EPA Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) and Office of Water have a prerule and proposed rules that are intended to address climate change. The OAR rules include the Greenhouse Gas Rule, which is in the prerule stage; an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) was published in the Federal Register on July 30, 2008. The ANPRM presents information relevant to and requests public comment on how the U.S. EPA should regulate mobile and stationary greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Massachusetts v. EPA. The public comment period on the ANPRM was scheduled to end on November 28, 2008, and the schedule for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is listed as “To Be Determined”.
The OAR lists the Greenhouse Gas Mandatory Reporting Rule as a proposed rule, with a NPRM scheduled for February 2009 and final action planned for October 2009. According to the abstract in the regulatory agenda, the Greenhouse Gas Mandatory Reporting Rule will establish monitoring, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements on facilities that produce, import, or emit greenhouse gases above a specific threshold to provide comprehensive and accurate data to support a range of future climate policy options. The OAR also identified the Renewable Fuels Standard Program as a proposed rule, which sets a modified standard for renewable fuels (cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels) increasing the national requirement to 9.0 billion gallons in 2008 and rising to 36 billion gallons by 2022 (NPRM was scheduled for November 2008; final action planned for June 2009). The Office of Water proposed a rule for Federal Requirements under the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Geologic Sequestration (GS) Wells. GS is the process of injecting carbon dioxide that has been captured from an emission source, such as a coal fired electric power plant, into deep subsurface rock formations for long term storage. U.S. EPA published a NPRM in July 2008 and plans to take final action by December 2010.
Initial Actions by the Obama Administration
Actions taken by President Obama before he took office and during the first two weeks of his presidency underscore his commitment to making climate change a top priority of his Administration. On December 15, 2008, President Obama named Carol Browner, former U.S. EPA Administrator, as the new Administration’s “energy czar”. According to a December 15, 2008, Time Magazine article, at the time of Ms. Browner’s appointment, the responsibilities of the newly created position of Energy Coordinator were not clear. The Time Magazine article states that “Her role seems to be that of an overseer, promoting smooth cooperation among the different energy and climate entities.” The creation of a new position to address energy issues and to coordinate among agencies may be seen as the start of the new Administration’s push to change the U.S.’s approach to energy issues and climate change, and to begin to implement its goals.
On the same day as the Browner appointment, President Obama appointed Ms. Jackson as the U.S. EPA’s Administrator, and immediately upon assuming the position, she echoed the Administration’s top priority and indicated that it would be one of her personal top priorities as Administrator. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton further emphasized the Administration’s position on climate change when, on January 26, 2009, she appointed a Special Envoy on Climate Change. In her announcement of the appointment, Secretary of State Clinton stated,
“With the appointment today of a Special Envoy, we are sending an unequivocal message that the United States will be energetic, focused, strategic and serious about addressing global climate change and the corollary issue of clean energy.”
According to Secretary of State Clinton, the Special Envoy will be the Administration’s “chief climate negotiator” and will serve as the principal advisor on international climate policy and strategy.
On the same day as the appointment of the Special Envoy, President Obama ordered the U.S. EPA to reconsider California's request to limit greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and ordered the Department of Transportation (DOT) to enact short-term rules on how automakers can improve fuel efficiency of their new models.
Conclusion
With the creation of an “energy czar” position, the appointment of a Special Envoy for Climate Change, and the orders issued to the U.S. EPA and DOT to address vehicle emissions, the new Administration has resolved that climate change is and will be a top priority of the Administration, and more is yet to come. Under the Bush Administration, U.S. EPA took initial steps to address climate change. The actions of the new Administration emphasize that initial actions will not be enough; how the U.S. EPA and its new Administrator will further respond remains to be seen. Only time, and the Spring 2009 Regulatory Plan, will tell.
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