January 2010

Last week, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced a "disapproval resolution" regarding EPA's recent endangerment finding that lays the foundation for the regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.  The Senator says that while she supports finding a way to address climate change, the solution should come from Congress rather than EPA under a statute that was not intended to apply to greenhouse gases.  She believes that EPA regulation will harm the economy more than a comprehensive program designed by Congress.  Opponents of the resolution believe it would be inappropriate for Congress to reject a scientific health finding of the EPA and that it is primarily a political move intended to further delay restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions. read more

A group of institutional investors, asset managers, and environmental advocacy groups has filed a supplemental petition with the SEC asking for rules requiring public companies to assess and disclose their exposure to climate change-related risks and opportunities. The group, led by Ceres and the Environmental Defense Fund and holding more than $1 trillion of assets, argues that the physical, business, and regulatory risks of climate change should be disclosed to the investing public. read more

Federal district court Judge Roger Titus of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, issued a comprehensive ruling that an industrial wind energy facility in Greenbrier County, West Virginia will kill and injure endangered Indiana bats, in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The court concluded that "the development of wind energy can and should be encouraged, but wind turbines must be good neighbors." read more

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has stated that she wants to make Arizona the "solar capital of the world." To that end, she has signed into law tax incentives for renewable energy companies and created a solar energy advisory task force. And, during her Jan. 11 State of the State address, she marked further progress toward that goal. Gov. Brewer announced a commitment by Tower Automotive to locate its solar component manufacturing operations in the Valley. Tower Automotive’s decision comes just two months after the news that Chinese giant Suntech Power Holdings Co. will open a large solar-panel manufacturing facility in Phoenix. Gov. Brewer called both decisions "strategic wins" that establish Arizona's "foothold in the solar industry." read more

With the December 2009 issuance of its endangerment finding, EPA is set to promulgate in March 2010 a proposed rule limiting greenhouse gas emissions from light-duty vehicles. Under EPA’s current interpretation of the Clean Air Act (CAA), promulgation of the light-duty vehicle rule will render greenhouse gases "regulated pollutants" under the statute, thereby triggering a requirement that the agency limit emissions from stationary sources as well. To prevent millions of small-source emitters (e.g., restaurants, apartment complexes) from becoming subject to CAA regulation, EPA has proposed a contentious "tailoring rule" that sets a regulatory threshold of 25,000 tons per year. However, because most states operate under EPA-approved "state implementation plans" that would require revision to conform with the tailoring rule lest they capture smaller sources, several states are urging the EPA to postpone stationary source regulation by one or two years. read more

The regional consortium, which consists of seven western states and four Canadian provinces, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, partly through implementation of a region-wide cap-and-trade program. But although Arizona, under Governor Janet Napolitano, was a founding member of the WCI, the state’s participation is unpopular with some Republican legislators. read more