Update: AGC In-Depth Report on Climate Change

The nation's economy is caught in a tug of war between the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration on the details surrounding future regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from mobile and stationary sources.  Greenhouse gases are emitted from cars, trucks, equipment, factories, commercial buildings, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, homes and even animals.  Any efforts to reduce emissions from such sources will have a profound impact on the way we generate energy, design and operate buildings and other infrastructure, make land planning decisions and transport goods.  A top concern is whether any resultant greenhouse gas controls will stifle the economy through unwieldy and strict regulations, or strengthen the economy by spurring new markets and innovations and creating jobs. Amid the political discord, the public and industry grapple to understand greenhouse gases, what guise controls of those gases may take and what it may mean to them, job creation and the economy as a whole.  Central to the issue is whether the Clean Air Act is an appropriate tool to address greenhouse gas emissions.  To provide members with a summary of recent events, below is an update to the AGC in-depth report on climate change originally published in AGC's Environmental Observer on November 20, 2009. What's Happening in Washington, D.C. At the urging of the White House, the U.S. Congress is still struggling to pass a comprehensive climate and energy bill.  The House of Representatives passed a bill by a narrow vote in the summer of 2009; however, the Senate, unable to find backing for specific draft bills, has moved full debate on climate and energy to early spring 2010.  Senators continue to work on the issue, and three have (Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.)) drawn close to unveiling another draft bill.  As Congress works, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pushing forward with its own regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from mobile and stationary sources under the Clean Air Act.  This is prompting sharp criticism from legislators in search of more time to debate the most appropriate course of action.  In both houses of Congress, movements that seek to stop or delay EPA action are gaining support.  In January 2010, thousands of businesses began the mandatory monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions that was intended to inform these policy decisions.  The first reports are due in early 2011.  However, unless Congress acts, EPA is poised to begin controlling emissions from these businesses via permitting programs under the Clean Air Act before anyone has seen or analyzed the data.  Congress and EPA are acting without the benefit of the supposedly "necessary" data that they mandated businesses provide.  At the beginning of 2009, EPA stated its preference that Congress act to develop a tool better suited for greenhouse gas emissions than the Clean Air Act.  EPA then proposed national vehicle emissions standards and finalized an endangerment finding for greenhouse gas emissions -- effectively setting into motion the regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.  In doing so, the agency will trigger other programs under the Act: such as permitting programs for stationary sources (impacting buildings) and possible national ambient air quality standards (impacting state air programs and highway funding).  In late 2009, EPA proposed a rule to temporarily minimize the "absurd administrative results" that would occur once certain Clean Air Act permitting programs apply to greenhouse gas emissions.  This rule, set to be finalized in March 2010 along with the national vehicle emissions standards, would "tailor" two stationary source permitting programs in the Clean Air Act to provide temporary relief to state permitting authorities and small businesses.  Without the tailoring rule, there would be an increase of 140-fold for new construction and major renovation permits from 280 permits issued each year to approximately 41,000 yearly.  In addition, more than six million newly-regulated facilities would have to obtain operating permits.  In response to Congress' concerns, EPA wrote a February 22, 2010 letter vowing to take even more steps in the final tailoring rule to delay implementation until 2011 in order to lessen the most serious and immediate consequences of using the Act. The pitfalls of using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions are clear to several policymakers, states, government agencies and industry groups.  Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.) intends to introduce for vote in mid-March a resolution to overturn EPA's December 2009 endangerment finding that opened the door for regulation under the Clean Air Act.  Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) is writing a bill that would delay EPA action for a few years; Sen. Rockefeller also was a key signer on a letter to EPA on Friday, February 19, 2010, that sought answers from EPA on the tailoring rule to be finalized next month.  Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to remove EPA's authority to regulate greenhouse gases.  Three more representatives (Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), Ike Skelton (D-Missouri) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-Missouri)) also introduced a bill to block EPA.  In addition, states and interest groups are choosing sides in support of or to challenge the EPA endangerment finding in the courts.  In spite of some interest groups' attempts to portray any vote against the endangerment finding and the Clean Air Act as a vote against the very future of the planet, there exist true concerns with applying the Act to greenhouse gas emissions.  The Act is not the only option, and it's not even the preferred option.  The endangerment finding itself is merely a legal step required to begin regulating a pollutant via the Clean Air Act.  AGC's Position While AGC appreciates that EPA acknowledges the unsuitability of the Act and seeks to defer the burden of compliance, delaying the Act does not make it any more appropriate to use for greenhouse gas emissions.  Legislation specifically drafted to address the unique attributes of greenhouse gases would be more effective at reducing those emissions with potentially less harm on the economy.  AGC supports recent congressional initiatives to halt regulation under the Clean Air Act.  Congress requires time and data to ensure that any efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions also work to strengthen the economy through: 1) increasing the energy efficiency of our infrastructure; and 2) increasing the nation's energy security by building diversified and lower-emitting sources. AGC has prepared a document, Top Ten Things Contractors Need to Know about Climate Change, to summarize AGC's concerns with climate change and energy legislation.  AGC encourages members to express their concerns by contacting their senators using AGC's Legislative Action Center.  Additional resources are available on the AGC Energy and Climate Change Web site. To read more about AGC's concerns with using the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, click here. AGC submitted a comment letter to EPA on the proposed endangerment finding in June 2009.  To read AGC's comment letter to EPA on the Tailoring Rule, click here.