EPA's July 4th Doc Dump News

From: The Hill's RegWatch

This September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to propose rules for greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants, and next June will issue draft rules for existing facilities.

Those dates match up with the timeline President Obama has given for the new regulations, which supporters have cheered as a major step in confronting climate change.

That's a good sign that the administration is serious about the rules, according to James Goodwin, a policy analyst with the Center for Progressive Reform.


"I'm encouraged by that, that they're saying in multiple places that this is sort of the schedule that the rules are going to follow," he said.

He added, "I'd put that as an encouraging sign that everything is on track, but again, these rules, the power plant rules, have kind of a long history of delays, so I'm going to have to wait and see what actually happens in reality."
The administration first unveiled a draft rule for new power plants in 2012, but delayed finalizing the proposal after more than 2 million comments were submitted by the public.

The EPA is also looking to regulate the pollution discharges from military ships, including drainage from onboard photography labs, deck runoff from rain and seawater and foam used to fight fires onboard.

The agency expects to propose that rule this month and finalize it next June.