EPA: Greenhouse gases endanger public health

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment, signaling the Obama administration’s willingness to act on climate change with or without Congress. The announcement comes shortly after the opening of a United Nations climate change summit in Copenhagen. If the EPA regulates carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act without major changes to the legislation, millions of CO2 sources would require permits to operate, says Dan Borné, president of the Louisiana Chemical Association. EPA regulation could drastically slow down and complicate the permitting process for any new facility in the upstream oil business, says Richard Metcalf, director of environmental affairs for the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association. The Associated General Contractors of America issued a statement saying “every single construction project in America is now likely to be put on standby until federal bureaucrats decide whether to grant Clean Air Act permits,” which they say could undermine federal stimulus spending. Marylee Orr, director of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, says the announcement should serve as a wakeup call to industry leaders who don’t know how much greenhouse gases their facilities are emitting. For now, the EPA announcement has no immediate impact, except that it allows the agency to finalize greenhouse gas standards for new light-duty automobiles. “The Obama administration is telling Congress and the regulated community to get on board the climate change train or risk being run over by the EPA greenhouse gas regulation bus,” Borné says.—David Jacobs