Is the NAT GAS Act an EPA Trojan horse?

June 9, 2011 07:41


“Section 403” [..] could clear the legal path for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to pursue the Obama administration’s entire energy agenda via back-door regulations.

Phil Kerpen at National Review Online


EXCERPTS:

But why are so many Democrats enamored with big corporate-welfare giveaways to the natural-gas industry in the first place? The answer might be a little-noticed provision called “Section 403” that could clear the legal path for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to pursue the Obama administration’s entire energy agenda via back-door regulations.

While Congress of course should step in and stop the EPA, so far it has failed to do so. That makes the dubious legal status of the EPA regulations critical. Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli and Texas attorney general Greg Abbott have taken the lead with aggressive legal challenges. Texas has even refused to comply with EPA dictates it considers unlawful. There are also several private legal challenges to the EPA.

Unfortunately, Section 403 could knock the legs out from under these lawsuits by creating a clear legislative history that takes as a given the existence of EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gases. If the bill passes, EPA will argue it is conclusive proof that their authority exists, and will likely find a sympathetic ear from a judiciary that has consistently favored expansive interpretations of the Clean Air Act.

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