Marathon Pundit: EPA overreach: Using regulation to harm the economy

The Obama administration failed to ram through its unpopular cap and trade legislation through the 111th Congress. It won't get the opportunity in the 112th--because Republicans will control the House of Representatives.

But the Democrats won't be stymied. Last month, while politicos were analysing the GOP win--and others were planning for Thanksgiving--the Environmental Protection Agency sneaked in a new regulatory “guidance” that gives us "cap" without the "trade."

The Heartland Institute's senior fellow for legal affairs, Maureen Martin, explains the stealth power grab:

On November 15, Obama's EPA issued a 100-page, highly technical "guidance" document proposing that as of January 2, 2011, large sources of greenhouse gas emissions—such as power plants, steel operations, and petroleum refineries—be required to obtain preconstruction and operating permits limiting their greenhouse gas emissions and to install the “best available” technology to do so.

Comments on these new rules are due on or before December 1, 2010, a 14-day period interrupted by the four-day Thanksgiving holiday. And EPA says it will review only comments on technical aspects of the new rule.

James M. Taylor, Heartland's senior fellow for environmental policy, has also weighed in:

Forcing power plants to purchase and implement the "best available" technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions every time a plant is built or any kind of significant maintenance or renovations occur, however, means by definition that electricity prices are going to start rising in a manner that will make the economy-shocking energy price spikes during the summer of 2008 seem downright wimpy by comparison.

The Obama administration won't be able to use legislative overreach anymore, but it still has the ability to do so on the regulatory level.

The Heartland Institute's Somewhat Reasonable blog is covering this issue. To find more Heartland Institute coverage, click here.

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