U.s. Climate Bill May Retain State Programs; Jackson Says Epa Will Proceed Cautiously

摘要

The fate of federal climate change legislation could hinge on a compromise under discussion in the House and Senate on the issue of state preemption that would allow states to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, but only if their laws are in place before Congress acts, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) said Feb. 23.rn"One of the discussions that we have had with people on the [Capitol] Hill that seem to be taking the lead" on climate legislation is "that they will grandfather in" states that have passed their own comprehensive climate legislation, said Gregoire, who made her remarks to reporters at the opening of the Georgetown University Law Center's State-Federal Climate Resource Center. Under this approach, states that have not passed their own climate bills before federal legislation is enacted would be preempted from enforcing their own limits in the future, she said.rnAlso offering remarks at the Georgetown Law Center event were Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, and Nancy Sutley, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.rnIssue Could Spur States to Pass Legislation. Gregoire said she had discussed the issue recently with leadership in the House and Senate but declined to be more specific. The prospect of state laws being grandfathered under a federal climate bill could provide momentum in those states, including Washington, that have not passed their own bills to act on legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions, Gregoire said.rn"I want my state to move forward-I want to be part of being grandfathered in, rather than simply receiving whatever federal policy they want to put forward" in Congress, the governor said.rnWith little federal action in previous years to set mandatory caps on U.S. emissions, many states, including California have enacted goals for reducing their green-rnhouse gas emissions. On Jan. 1, 10 northeastern and mid-Atlantic states launched the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to cap carbon dioxide emissions from the power sector (40 ER 102, 1/16/09).rnThe automotive and other industries argue that a comprehensive federal cap on emissions must preempt individual states from enforcing their own "patchwork" of emissions standards.