An ELI Associates Seminar
President Obama has directed EPA "to use your authority under sections 111(b) and 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to issue standards, regulations, or guidelines, as appropriate, that address carbon pollution from modified, reconstructed, and existing power plants and build on State efforts to move toward a cleaner power sector." EPA is to propose standards no later than June 1, 2014, finalize them within a year, and have approved state or federal plans in place by the end of President Obama’s term.
Using the Clean Air Act (CAA) to address carbon emissions from existing power plants breaks new ground in environmental law and policy. ELI members joined us for a discussion with top domestic experts on the various options for using the CAA to achieve the president’s orders:
- Should EPA use an emissions rate approach, establish a cap and trade system, or propose other innovative approaches?
- What roles should existing programs like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and California’s AB 32 play?
- How will state-based CAA regulations work with regional power management?
- What are the relative roles of fuel switching, changing dispatch rules, adding renewable energy capacity, and encouraging energy efficiency?
- How will consumers and emissions be affected?
Our expert panel of speakers has decades of experience with the CAA:
John Cruden, President, Environmental Law Institute (moderator)
David Doniger, Policy Director Clean Air & Climate Program, Natural Resources Defense Council
Jeff Holmstead, Partner, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP
William (Bill) Pedersen, Senior Counsel, Perkins Coie LLP
Background Materials:
- Members may log on to access the mp3 recording.
- David Doniger powerpoint presentation
- Should EPA Use Emissions Averaging or Cap and Trade to Implement §111(d) of the Clean Air Act?, William Pedersen (Envtl Law Rptr, September 2013)
- View US EPA's Overview Presentation: Clean Air Act Section 111
- Technology Flexibility and Stringency for Greenhouse Gas Regulations, Resources for the Future Discussion Paper, July 2013
- Regulating Carbon Dioxide under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act: Options, Limits, and Impacts, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, January 2013
- Closing the Power Plant Carbon Pollution Loophole: Smart Ways the Clean Air Act Can Clean Up America's Biggest Climate Polluters, NRDC Report, March 2013
- Using EPA Clean Air Act Authority to Build a Federal Framework for State Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs, The National Climate Coalition