EPA Issues Advance Notice Of Climate Change Rulemaking

Originally published July 15, 2008

On July 11, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") released an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking ("ANPR") to regulate greenhouse gases ("GHG") under the Clean Air Act. The ANPR is in response to the April 2007 Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA, which required EPA to determine if GHGs endanger public health or welfare and, if so, to regulate them. This rulemaking has been mired in behind-the-scenes politics and was initially expected to be issued in December 2007. Unlike typical rulemakings, there is no definitive proposal of what a GHG-reductions program would look like; instead, EPA is presenting its analyses and policy alternatives for consideration. The rulemaking will not be finalized under the current administration, but instead will fall to the next EPA administrator.