Tea Party Weighs in on EPA Greenhouse Gas Regs

In a letter sent last week to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the Georgia Tea Party outlined its concerns over the agency’s move to regulate greenhouse gases. Specifically, the Tea Party argues that EPA proposals to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from utilities “exceed the authority of that agency and, in fact, are a misapplication of the Clean Air Act.” The letter was also sent to members of Georgia’s congressional delegation.

“If implemented, these regulations would impose compliance costs reaching hundreds of billions of dollars that utilities would have to pass on to the consumer,” explains Georgia Tea Party board member Patti Gettinger. “This would have a devastating affect on the economy and particularly on low income and fixed income families throughout the country.”
(Read the Georgia Tea Party’s full press release here.)

EPA’s move to regulate greenhouse gas emissions stems from a 2007 Supreme Court case in which twelve states, including California and New York, argued successfully that EPA should be forced to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Having missed its original regulatory deadline of July 26, 2011, EPA is now aiming to implement such regulations by May 26, 2012.

“In combination with other EPA proposals such as Utility MACT, the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, and coal ash regulation,” the Tea Party’s letter explains, “the proposal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the utilities provides yet another piece of evidence that your agency has lost sight of environmental protection and is focused instead on eliminating coal from America’s energy mix.”

“The Georgia Tea Party has made a clear case that EPA’s action to regulate greenhouse gases will make energy in the U.S. less accessible and more expensive,” says PACE Executive Director Lance Brown. “We encourage others with similar concerns to make their voices heard while there is still time.”