State Implementation of the Clean Air Act
The draft of a rule by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would create strict new limits on power plant emissions has reached the White House. While critics have expressed concern about the rule’s effect on the coal industry, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says that it offers flexibility and recently noted that the agency is working “hand in hand” with the states on implementation of the regulation.
RFF’s Dallas Burtraw notes that flexibility and cooperation with the states are two key aspects for successful implementation of this regulation. Building on his research on reducing carbon emissions, he recently answered frequently asked questions about the costs, challenges, and advantages of regulating power plant emissions at the state level under the Clean Air Act. Video highlights and full text of the FAQs about state implementation of the Clean Air Act are available online, as part of RFF’s resource page on regulating carbon emissions under the Clean Air Act.
The Natural Gas Revolution
Last week, the US Energy Information Administration announced that US energy imports had declined to a 20-year low. Advances in hydraulic fracturing “drove net imports down 19 percent in 2013 from 2012,” which could also bode well for the push to increase natural gas exports in the future.
However, critical questions still remain about the sustainable development and use of this resource, according to a new report by RFF’s Alan Krupnick, Ray Kopp, Kristin Hayes, and Skyler Roeshot. They write: “It is time to take stock about what is known, what is uncertain, and what is unknown about the economic and environmental consequences of the natural gas revolution.” The research team identified 24 questions which, if resolved, “would fundamentally advance the debate around how to sustainably develop natural gas.”
