Courts strike down Clean Air Interstate Rule as EPA rules it will not regulate carbon-dioxide emissions under Clean Air Act

In Washington, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down the Clean Air Interstate Rule which forced power producers to reduce smog and soot-producing emissions, primarily in Eastern US states. The court ruled that the EPA had exceeded its authority in imposing the rule, which was a centerpiece of Bush Administration action on greenhouse gases.

In related news, the EPA announced that it would not attempt to regulate carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act, saying that the Act was an unsuitable means of controlling the emissions of facilities such as schools, hospitals, residential building and manufacturing facilities.  The White House hailed the decision while rejecting an EPA 1,000 page report that concluded that regulating automotive carbon-dioxide emissions could provide a $2 trillion benefit to the country. A copy of the full EPA report is here.

EPA background

The EPA received a total of 15,000 comments on the proposed waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard. The agency said that, following the waiver request by Governor Rick Perry of Texas, said that many of the responses came from a website set up by the Grocery Manufacturers Association. Governor Perry said that he was not aware that any issue had ever prompted so many responses in an EPA comments period.

Meanwhile, the Dallas News reported that Texas businessman “Bo” Pilgrim, who lobbied Governor Perry to seek the waiver, donated $100,000 to the  Republican Governors Association headed by Governor Perry.   Meanwhile, Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico, predicted that the request would be denied because Governor Perry had overstated the impact of ethanol on food prices.

EPA awarded a $200,000 grant to a team at Mississippi State University to research the production of biodiesel from conversion of waste water treatment plant sludge. The team led by Dr. Rafael Hernandez and Dr. Todd French, will research the identification of microorganisms that can extract lipids from the sludge that can be converted into biodiesel. The team will also report on the net energy output and environmental impact of the process.

The EPA has vastly expanded powers to determine crop policy and the rate of biofuels expansion, under the Energy Independence and Security Act signed into law last December. The EPA may waive or reduce annual targets prescribed under the ACt, and determine which fuels qualify as “advanced biofuels” that count towards the overall goal of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel blended with gasoline annually.

Under the Act, the EPA, states, or refiners can petition the EPA to waive ethanol blending requirement, or the EPA may alter the timetable itself. EPA officials have commenced design of their analytic framework, and at the heart of their work is a determination of land-use models to use in mapping the impact of ethanol production on greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA also will have final say in allowing higher blends of ethanol such as as E20 and E30 to be adopted as state minimums.

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