EPA finalises controversial carbon permit rules

The regulatory framework governing US efforts to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants and industrial sites is beginning to take shape after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday finalised rules governing how firms should obtain new emission permits.

Under controversial rules due to take effect from next year, large emitters will be required to gain emission permits when they retool or add new capacity at a facility. The EPA will only grant permits to those firms that demonstrate that they have used the cleanest technologies available when upgrading their plant.

The EPA claims that the permitting rules will cover large industrial facilities that are responsible for 70 per cent of all GHG emissions from stationary sources and will force businesses to invest in cleaner technologies.

Yesterday the agency attempted to clarify the administrative procedures that will govern the new permitting regime, confirming that it will require 13 states to make changes to current permitting regimes to ensure GHG emissions are covered. The remaining states will be instructed to review their existing permitting systems and instruct the agency if greenhouse gas emissions are not covered.

The new permitting plans are required in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon and Texas.

The EPA said in a statement that it would prefer to see emission permitting managed through state authorities. "States are best-suited to issue permits to sources of GHG emissions and have long-standing experience working together with industrial facilities," it said.

However, the new rules essentially allow the EPA to take control of permitting oversight in states that do not comply with the agency's GHG regulations. "Today's rules will help ensure that these sources will be able to get those permits regardless of where they are located," the agency added.

The EPA is holding a public hearing on the proposed rule on 25 August and hopes to finalise the proposals before the new permitting requirements come into effect, on 2 January next year.

However, the new permitting rules are still facing numerous legal challenges. Texas recently joined 16 other court challenges to the EPA's new permitting rules, while a number of industry groups, including the American Forest and Paper Association, National Association of Manufacturers, the American Iron and Steel Institute and the Portland Cement Association, have all filed suits against the agency.

Environmentalists are also getting in on the act, with the Sierra Club filing a legal challenge against the new rules, arguing that they set a dangerous precedent for regulating other pollutants. The Center for Biological Diversity has also challenged the EPA, saying it has exempted too many polluters from the legislation.