Isra-Mart srl:EPA carbon rules to take effect in new year as Senate vote is blocked

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

Efforts to strip the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the regulatory power to curb greenhouse gas emissions have been delayed until next year, after Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller conceded late last week that he would not be able to secure a Senate vote on proposals to block new EPA carbon rules for two years.

Rules requiring carbon-intensive power stations and industrial plants to obtain permits demonstrating that any new facilities or upgrades use only the most efficient technologies available will now come into effect next month as planned.

Senator Rockefeller, who represents the coal-rich state of West Virginia, had been pushing for a vote in the Senate that would delay the new rules by two years, arguing that their introduction would harm the economy and push up energy bills.

However, on Friday he issued a statement conceding that he had not secured the support required to trigger a vote, laying the blame squarely at the door of the Republicans.

"Republican proponents of my bill to suspend EPA regulations on greenhouse gas emissions have pulled their support for this year so that they can gain some political advantage trying to take over this issue in 2011," he said.

The Republicans have signaled that they will move to strip the EPA of its power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions when they take control of the House of Representatives next month.

The EPA and the Obama administration maintain that using the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act represent the only route open to them after Congress consistently failed to pass energy and climate change legislation.

They also point to a series of independent reports that suggest the EPA's new rules will have a minimal impact on the economy and energy bills while helping to deliver cuts in carbon emissions.