Industry pushback in favor of carbon regulations a role reversal for EPA

June 29th, 2017 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

The Environmental Protection Agency has changed, rolled back or otherwise mitigated a number of regulations enacted by the previous presidential administration since Scott Pruitt took charge of the environmental regulator in February. The current plan to weaken or totally dismantle the Obama-era Clean Power Plan is one of the larger initiatives pushed by the new EPA leadership, a potentially massive change that would drastically alter the way businesses can expect to operate in the future.

The potential uncertainty that comes from strong environmental regulations possibly being revoked led to a rare situation at EPA headquarters in late June: A number of executives from the energy industry asked Pruitt to put some kind of regulation in place to help in planning and forecasting efforts, Scientific American said.

Practical concerns drive energy executives' comments

Pruitt hosted a discussion with a number of business leaders in the energy industry to determine their stance on the Clean Power Plan. Scientific American said that while many were interested in looser, less-stringent regulations if the CPP is dismantled, they still wanted some standard in place. That desire is driven by the common need for businesses to plan ahead and make decisions in the best interests of their futures.

The lack of any rules related to carbon output could prove to be a problem if, for example, a future presidential administration decides to bring back limits for power plants. Another important consideration for the power companies is the lack of a desire to build more coal-fueled power plants. Scientific American said there is little push in the industry to construct more of that type of facility. While coming short of expressing approval for the CPP, the industry pushback centered on getting some type of regulations on the books is notable.

Pruitt's meeting with business executives isn't a new approach for the EPA's chief administrator, as he dedicated a significant amount of time toward such conversations during his first days in office. E&E News found, through a Freedom of Information Act Request, that Pruitt had met with a wide range of executives from the energy industry as well as the automotive, coal and oil and gas markets.

With the EPA focusing more on corporate interests, the pushback in favor of some form of environmental regulations is an intriguing and unique development.