Democrat senator calls for pause to US carbon regulations

The row surrounding the Environment Protection Agency's (EPA) plans to regulate greenhouse gas emissions took another twist yesterday when an influential Democrat Senator proposed a bill that would impose a two-year hiatus on the agency's efforts to curb emissions from power plants.

Senator John Rockefeller from the coal-producing state of Virginia said that stopping the EPA from regulating emissions from stationary sources such as coal-fire power stations for two years would "safeguard jobs, the coal industry and the entire economy as we move toward clean-coal technology", while giving Congress more time to produce a dedicated climate change bill.

The new bill attempts to broker a compromise with Republican proposals that would permanently bar the EPA from regulating carbon emissions.

Republican senator Lisa Murkowski is preparing a legislative move that would permanently reverse the EPA's recent ruling that carbon emissions represent a threat to human health and can be legislated through the Clean Air Act.

The proposals have been widely criticised by environmental groups and some businesses who have warned it would torpedo EPA plans to impose new national vehicle tailpipe standards.

In contrast, Rockefeller's bill would only address regulations covering emissions from stationary sources, leaving the EPA free to proceed with plans to introduce tougher standards for emissions from vehicles.

The bill may also prove less inflammatory than Republican efforts to revoke the EPA's authority over carbon emissions, as it does not question the Agency's decision that greenhouse gases pose a threat to the health of American citizens.

Murkowski, who is expected to instigate a Senate vote on her proposals later this month, welcomed Rockefeller's intervention. "I'm hopeful that this bill will draw additional support and advance quickly," she said in a statement, adding that either way her bill was still "guaranteed consideration in the Senate".

However, environmentalists will still oppose proposals that would further delay action to curb emissions from power plants and industrial sites. The bill also represents another challenge to the authority of the Obama administration, which has said it would use the EPA to regulate carbon emissions if efforts to pass a specific climate change bill failed.

The move came as the EPA this week attempted to appease some of its critics, confirming on Wednesday that its carbon regulations would only target the largest polluters.

The agency had originally proposed that all industrial sites emitting more than 25,000 tons of carbon a year would have to obtain permits proving that any upgrades used the cleanest technology available.

However, administrator Lisa Jackson confirmed this week that the cut-off point would be raised to 75,000 tons a year when the legislation is introduced next year. "If you're smaller than 75,000 tons, you will not need a permit for the next two years," she told reporters.

She also hinted that even if the threshold is lowered in the future, it is unlikely to fall below 50,000 tons, meaning non-industrial sites will remain largely exempt from the regulation.