Electric Co-op Today

As the Environmental Protection Agency reconsiders a key decision on greenhouse gas emissions, co-ops and other utilities say they will be watching closely for possible clues to the agency’s future direction in regulation.

President Barack Obama signs an order that could have implications for greenhouse gas regulation. (Photo By: Newscom)

EPA officials are revisiting the denial of California’s long-sought waiver to set its own tailpipe emission standards, after President Barack Obama took the first steps Jan. 26 toward giving states more leeway in regulating greenhouse gases from vehicles.

Obama took the action as part of a program on energy independence that included a second order on vehicle mileage standards and a call for support of energy provisions in his economic stimulus initiative.

His order does not directly affect the electric utility industry, but an eventual waiver for California could have consequences for emissions from other sources, such as power plants, under the Clean Air Act, said Kirk Johnson, NRECA vice president of environmental policy.

“That potentially could result in triggering Prevention of Significant Deterioration regulations on new stationary sources, as well as other provisions of the act controlling emissions from stationary sources,” Johnson said.

The waiver request has been a source of controversy since 2002, when California lawmakers enacted a measure designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions from new cars sold in the state by 30 percent by 2016.

The state needed a waiver from EPA to proceed on its own, but the agency denied the request in December 2007, saying it could lead to a confusing patchwork of state laws.

Tags: Environmental Protection Agency, Obama Administration, Stimulus Bill