The US EPA is facing criticism on multiple fronts. Alaskan Senator (R) Murkowski is aiming to reverse the EPA’s recently-granted authority to limit GHG emissions, and industry groups have commented on recent EPA regulations in an attempt to raise the reductions threshold.

Senator Murkowski can explore two options to strip the EPA of its authority to regulate GHG emissions.  She can tack on a clause that nullifies the EPA’s authority to an unrelated senate bill that is to be voted on later this month, or she can introduce a ‘resolution of disapproval’ in either February or early March that would serve the same purpose. To do the former, she would require a 60 vote senate majority to avoid a filibuster; the latter option requires only 51 votes.

But Democrats are broadly supporting the EPA, and the complex senate process means that Murkowski’s goal will likely be thwarted. If she fails in amending this month’s legislation and gathering 60 votes, the resolution of disapproval, if passed in the Senate, would have to be separately supported in the House of Representatives, and signed by the President to take effect. Even if it got through the Senate and the House, the President would likely veto the bill.

Separately, the US EPA is reviewing comments from industry on its proposed rule to limit GHG emissions from large stationary sources. The EPA wants to impose limits on new and modified stationary sources that emit above the 25,000 tonnes-CO₂e mark, and that fell into the Title V category. Title V sources require permits to emit above a 100 tonnes of nitrogen oxide, or 250 tonnes of non-methane organic compounds. Since these equal about 777,000 and 785,000 tonnes of CO2-equivalent respectively, industry groups are lobbying for the de facto emissions threshold to be in that range rather than 25,000 tonnes threshold described by the EPA. Kansas and other states are also calling on the EPA to delay the roll-out of these regulations, since it takes time to modify state laws and regulations.

By Jeff Beyer, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)