State Regulators Asking EPA to Slow Pace of GHG Rules

Regulatory agencies in several states want the Obama administration to slow down impending GHG regulations, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The Journal said regulators fear the "administration's approach could overwhelm them with paperwork, delay construction projects and undercut their own efforts to fight climate change." Regulators from California, Florida, Kansas and Pennsylvania have appealed to EPA to slow down and have said they lack funding to implement new rules.

In a Dec. 24 letter to EPA, the California Energy Commission said the proposed rules on GHG emissions "will likely retard, rather than facilitate," GHG reductions from utilities and generators. Commission Executive Director Melissa Jones wrote: "We are gravely concerned that EPA's current proposal will likely create a huge administrative burden." National Association of Clean Air Agencies Executive Director William Becker said: "This issue [of permits] is an extraordinarily hot topic among the states.