Reuters UK is reporting out of Washington that the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is challenging a recent finding by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that greenhouse gases (GHGs) are harmful to human health.The finding by the EPA opens the door for the agency to regulate GHG emissions that endanger human health without having to pass legislation through Congress. Naturally, those who feel the ruling hurts agriculture are concerned by this development, arguing that it will harmful to the nations farming and ranching communities.
The EPA ruling came earlier in December. According to Reuters, the ruling allows the EPA to regulate six “heat-trapping gases without new laws passed by Congress.” This is a big development for those on all sides of the climate change debate as this debate, pardon the pun, is heating up and will be on fire once Congress gets done with health care and moves on to climate change.
Rather than take the decision lying down, the NCBA has filed a petition in Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last week “saying the EPA climate change regulations would hurt large farms.” Farm emissions come from several sources: from livestock to animal waste, to farm machinery. Having the EPA apply new regulations to all these different sources of GHGs could be very detrimental to farming operations.
Tamara Theis is the chief environmental counsel for the NCBA. She states in the Reuters story that ‘“[t]his unilateral move by the EPA jeopardizes our ability to remain competitive in the global marketplace [.]”’ Theis believes any new regulations could force farmers to buy permits or slow their operations, or if they can’t afford the permits, to close down shop.
The administration had been hoping to have a bill out of the Senate before it went to Copenhagen for the climate change meetings their between the international community to show the US commitment to climate change. While Senators Kerry (MA) and Graham (SC) have developed a compromise deal that signals what the senate may be able to pass, all that came from Copenhagen was a vague Accord that says the parties need to cut GHGs and will meet in the future to determine how much exactly, each country must cut. The Accord is supposed to provide a framework for future negotiations, but currently the agriculture community is in limbo.
Whether or not Congress will actually pass something certainly remains to be seen as there are a lot of issues to sort out between agrarian-state senators, rust-belt state senators, and coal-producing state senators. Additionally, lawmakers want to know what other countries are going to do to take on this global challenge before they commit the US to any major changes in GHG emissions that could dramatic affects on the nation’s economy.
As Reuters writes, it appears that one way or another; GHG emissions will face new regulations in the US. But if the regulations come from the EPA and not congressional legislation, there are likely to be more cases filed similar to this one.
To read the Reuters story click here.
Posted: 12/29/09
