Let’s wait until the economy recovers a little before we step on it with costly environmental regulations. That was the message from Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson in a response to eight Democratic senators from industrial coal states the authority of the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. Administrator Jackson said by April she will “take actions to ensure that no stationary source will be required to get a Clean Air Act permit to cover its greenhouse gas emissions in calendar year 2010.”
As the Clean Air Act is currently written, the EPA could regulate sources or establishments that emit 100 or 250 tons or more of a pollutant per year. The EPA is proposing a “tailoring rule” that would amend the CAA so that only entities that emit 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year would be affected. But even the 25,000 ton threshold is subject to change said Jackson: “I expect the threshold for permitting will be substantially higher than the 25,000-ton limit that EPA originally proposed.” These regulations for the largest of emitters are expected to take place between the latter half of 2011 and 2013.
Smaller entities would be exempt from carbon dioxide regulations – for now. Schools, farms, restaurants, hospitals, apartment complexes, churches, and anything with a motor–from motor vehicles to lawnmowers, jet skis, and leaf blowers–could be subject to regulations – but no sooner than 2016 said Jackson.
Although Jackson is delaying the regulatory pain, the business uncertainty the EPA is creating is preventing economic recovery today. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), in a response to Lisa Jackson’s statement, said, “Until the specter of command-and-control regulations goes away, it will remain a counterproductive threat hanging over the work that must be done to find common ground.” A December 2009 National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) survey of small and independent business owners asked owners to rank the single most important problem they faced. Behind poor sales, taxes and government regulations/red tape finished second and third, respectively. Government regulations and red tape jumped three spots from a year ago.
Even without regulations, the prospect of them is enough to impose economic harm. Rising uncertainty can drive down investments in riskier projects and prohibit expansion. The EPA may be delaying carbon dioxide regulations but they’re also delaying a quicker economic recovery with looming uncertainty.
Growing Momentum for Iran Sanctions in Congress, But Not So Much at the U.N.
Author: James Phillips
The Senate yesterday passed a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran and on companies that assist Iran’s oil industry. The legislation, S.2799, targets companies that supply Iran with gasoline and other refined products or help it to expand its refinery capacity. Although Iran possesses the world’s third largest oil reserves, it must import approximately 40 percent of its gasoline supplies because of a lack of refinery capacity. The House voted to pass similar legislation last month by a vote of 412-12.
The Senate vote came the day after seven senators wrote a letter urging President Obama to take stronger action to escalate pressure on Iran over its suspect nuclear efforts. The letter, which urged the administration “to do everything that is necessary to stop Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear weapons capability in the critical months ahead,” was signed by Republican Senators Jon Kyl, John McCain, Johnny Isakson, and David Vitter, independent Joe Lieberman, and Democratic Senators Evan Bayh, Robert Casey, Charles Schumer, and Benjamin Cardin.
Meanwhile, the Obama Administration’s efforts to ratchet up pressure on Iran in the United Nations Security Council faces resistance from the usual suspects: China and Russia. The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration will push for enhanced financial sanctions on Iran and measures aimed specifically at Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its huge constellation of enterprises and front companies.
China, which has a growing trade relationship with Iran, has been dragging its feet on another round of sanctions. It forced a cancellation of a meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council on Iran in December and only sent a low-level delegation to a meeting on that issue two weeks ago. Russia also has sought to dilute and delay any sanctions at the Security Council. Yesterday Moscow signaled that this resistance is likely to continue: a top arms trade official issued a statement that reassured Iran that it is a valued market for Russian arms exports and noted that no international agreements bar Russia from selling weapons to Tehran.
This is one more sign that if and when the United Nations Security Council takes action, it is likely to be a day late and a dollar short.
For more on Iran, see: Iran Briefing Room