EPA is moving to convene a formal Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel to provide input on its pending greenhouse gas (GHG) rule for power plants, a significant decision after the agency refused to consider similar small business panels for its GHG vehicle rules and "tailoring" rule outlining GHG permit requirements. The agency's decision not to convene the panel for the Clean Air Act tailoring rule - due to the agency's claims that the rule was de-regulatory because it limits the application of GHG permit limits - is one of the issues at the center of ongoing litigation over EPA's package of existing climate rules. In lieu of creating a SBAR panel for the tailoring rule, the agency instead certified its belief that the rule would not negatively impact small businesses. SBARs are panels consisting of officials from EPA, the White House Office of Management & Budget, the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy and small businesses representatives. The panels assess whether a rule would have major economic impacts on small businesses, and look at steps to minimize those impacts.
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