EPA Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making to Address Global Warming
In response to the April 2007 Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, which mandated that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determine whether global warming pollution poses a threat to our health and welfare, EPA staff drafted an "Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" (ANPRM) on how to address the issue and take action in response.
Now the White House and EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson are trying to block these federal global warming regulations.
Administrator Johnson reluctantly published the ANPRM, only after substantial vetting by White House political staff. And, in an unprecedented move, he also attached a prologue to his staff’s report that undermined its content, including specific substantive complaints from the White House Office of Management and Budget, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the White House Council of Economic Advisers, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Transportation, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Energy.
EPA staff reacted angrily, with a number of leaders sending a letter to Administrator Johnson calling his behavior "stunning to [EPA] staff and damaging to EPA’s reputation for sound science and policy."
The final decision will be in the hands of the next administration. This draft, which covers stationary source, vehicle, and fuel pollution, will likely be a foundation for both executive and legislative action on climate change. Supporting EPA staff in this effort now sends a strong signal to the incoming administration that climate change must be a top priority for action starting in January 2009.
Early signs from the Obama administration have been positive. On January 26th, 2009, President Obama directed the EPA to reconsider the previous decision to reject the waiver states need to implement clean car standards on global warming. On February 6th, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson officially began the process, noting that, “EPA has now set in motion an impartial review of the California waiver decision. It is imperative that we get this decision right, and base it on the best available science and a thorough understanding of the law.” Reports soon followed from administration sources that the administration would indeed be moving forward on national efforts to regulate global warming pollution under the Clean Air Act.
