Posted on June 27, 2014 by Heidi
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on Monday, June 23, 2014, which upheld the authority of EPA to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act (CAA), but with limitations. The Court held that EPA may require permits and carbon control efforts for large stationary sources that emit large quantities of carbon dioxide. The emission of certain quantities of other regulated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions -- not carbon dioxide alone -- must trigger the requirements, however. The Court held that EPA went impermissibly beyond its authority to regulate carbon dioxide under the CAA when, under its "Tailoring Rule," the Agency raised the triggering thresholds for carbon dioxide regulation.
The biomass community has been weighing in on EPA efforts to determine how to account for bioenergy emissions under its Tailoring Rule. Despite this week's Supreme Court ruling, there are ongoing efforts to urge EPA to issue in final its biogenic carbon accounting framework for those bioenergy facilities that would trigger permitting and other carbon control requirements based on the levels of emission of regulated GHG emissions other than carbon dioxide. See related item below.
Posted on June 27, 2014 by Heidi
On June 19, 2014, over 90 scientists sent a letter to EPA urging the Agency to move forward under its Tailoring Rule by "1) moving beyond the flawed assumption that bioenergy is inherently carbon neutral; 2) rejecting the regional accounting method originally proposed in the draft Accounting Framework; and 3) ensuring a scientifically sound methodology for determining the carbon emissions impact to the atmosphere from burning long-recovery woody biomass feedstocks -- most notably, whole trees." A copy of the letter is available online. There were significant actions on this issue last year, with several groups urging EPA to find that bioenergy and other biogenic sources of GHG emissions are carbon neutral for purposes of new GHG permitting requirements under EPA's Tailoring Rule.
On July 12, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued its decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA. The court vacated EPA's rule (the Deferral Rule) exempting bioenergy and other biogenic sources of GHG emissions from new GHG permitting requirements under EPA's Tailoring Rule for a period of three years. This deferral was intended to allow EPA time to study and develop a proper method of accounting for GHG emissions from these sources. The court held that EPA did not meet the standards to justify its Deferral Rule under any of the four doctrines it had invoked.
In August 2013, several biomass groups sent a letter to then-newly sworn-in EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy urging EPA to find that bioenergy and other biogenic sources of GHG emissions are carbon neutral for purposes of new GHG permitting requirements under EPA's Tailoring Rule.
On August 28, 2013, the Solid Waste Association of North America and the National Solid Wastes Management Association sent a letter to EPA Administrator McCarthy urging EPA to issue quickly a final rule clarifying how biogenic carbon emissions will be treated under Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V permitting requirements, and to determine that biogenic carbon emissions from municipal solid waste should be categorically excluded from the new PSD and Title V GHG reporting requirements.
Posted on November 15, 2013 by Heidi
On Thursday, November 14, 2013, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy and Power, chaired by Representative Ed Whitfield (R-KY), held a hearing to discuss EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas standards for new power plants and draft legislation authored by Chairman Whitfield and Senator Joe Manchin. The hearing included three panels of ten witnesses, including Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and EPA Acting Administrator for Air and Radiation Janet McCabe, to discuss a potential legislative proposal by Subcommittee Chair Whitfield and Senator Manchin that would effectively prohibit EPA from promulgating or enforcing its recently released proposed rule to regulate GHG emissions from new power plants and make regulation of GHGs from existing plants contingent on Congressional approval.
Several states and business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, support the Whitfield-Manchin proposal. Information on the hearing, including a list of witnesses and the draft legislation, may be found online.
Posted on October 18, 2013 by Heidi
On the first day of its new term on October 15, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would grant review of parts of EPA's greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations. The Court will review part of the June 2012 decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which upheld EPA's GHG program. It will review whether EPA's GHG regulations for motor vehicles should have triggered Prevention of Significant Deterioration permitting for stationary sources. The case and its outcome could impact the current efforts of the Obama Administration to develop and finalize new GHG regulations for new and existing stationary sources. It is reported that the Court is likely to hear arguments in the first few months of the new year.
Posted on September 05, 2013 by Heidi
On August 28, 2013, the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and the National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) sent a letter to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy urging EPA to (1) issue quickly a final rule clarifying how biogenic carbon emissions will be treated under Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V permitting requirements and (2) determine that biogenic carbon emissions from municipal solid waste (MSW) should be categorically excluded from the new PSD and Title V greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting requirements. A copy of the letter is available online. In July, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia vacated EPA's rule temporarily exempting bioenergy and other biogenic sources of GHG emissions from the new GHG permitting requirements, which has created uncertainty for the industry going forward. BRAG's report on this decision is available online.
In their joint letter, SWANA and NSWMA argue that emissions from the biogenic portions of MSW should be permanently exempted from the new GHG reporting requirements in part based on EPA's recent calculation of the lifecycle GHG analysis of landfill gas as a renewable fuel feedstock. Under this analysis, EPA "assumed that the biogenic portions of MSW (which produce the biogas) pose no land use-related GHG emissions associated with its production and use as a fuel feedstock." In addition, the groups state subjecting the biogenic emissions to the new reporting requirements could deter renewable fuel production and progress on projects designed to promote the beneficial use of landfill gas and energy.
On August 1, 2013, over 100 groups sent a similar letter to EPA urging the Agency to find that bioenergy and other biogenic sources of GHG emissions are carbon neutral for purposes of new GHG permitting requirements under EPA's Tailoring Rule. More information on this letter is available online.
Posted on August 30, 2013 by Heidi
On August 26, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted a petition by several industry groups, including the American Forest & Paper Association and the National Alliance of Forest Owners, for an extension to file an appeal to the court's recent decision to vacate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) rule temporarily exempting biogenic sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new GHG permitting requirements. For more information on the decision issued in July, please visit online. Groups will now have until 30 days after the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether it will consider several lawsuits challenging EPA's GHG regulations to appeal this biogenic carbon decision.
Posted on August 30, 2013 by Heidi
EPA was scheduled to post a video on its YouTube channel providing an overview of the Agency's plans to regulate GHG emissions from existing power plants. Under President Obama's Climate Action Plan (CAP) announced on June 25, 2013, EPA is directed to propose emissions guidelines for existing power plants by June 1, 2014. EPA's YouTube page is available online.
U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power Chair Ed Whitfield (R-KY) has announced that he will hold a hearing on the President's CAP on September 18, 2013. Chair Whitfield, who does not support the CAP, has invited representatives from 13 federal agencies, including EPA, to testify at the hearing. The Subcommittee's press release (available online) states that "we seek to hear from relevant Federal agencies about U.S. climate change policies and the administration's second term climate agenda, and to obtain fuller information regarding the Federal government's past, current, and planned domestic and international activities, climate research programs, initiatives, and new regulatory requirements."
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