EPA Rejects Petitions to Reconsider Greenhouse Gas Findings

In a decision that will surprise no one, EPA rejected requests by citizens, corporations and states to reconsider its determination that greenhouse gases threaten the public health and environment. Some or all of them will presumably file suit to challenge EPA's decision, joining the large number of lawsuits challenging other aspects of the EPA's decision to regulate GHG emissions. The EPA decision, and related information, can be found here.

Several years ago, in the case of Massachusetts v. EPA, the US Supreme Court decided that carbon dioxide is a pollutant, as that term is defined in the Clean Air Act. Section 202(g) of the Clean Air Act defines an air pollutant as "any . . . substance or matter which is emitted into or otherwise enters the ambient air." The definition is so broad that the Court had no problem finding that carbon dioxide and other GHGs are pollutants, and sent the matter back to EPA to determine whether they endanger human health or the environment. Here is a Wikipedia summary of the case.

On remand, EPA determined that GHGs pose a danger, primarily due to their supposed effects on global climate change. EPA reconsidered that decision in response to the petitions, and in yesterday's action reiterated its conclusion that the world is imperiled by carbon dioxide. The result is that significant restrictions on GHG will now be required.

It's unlikely that this finding will hold up. There is too much question about the science behind the finding, and too much political opposition, for it to remain unchanged.