Powerful industry group chief sees chances to block EPA climate rules

National Association of Manufacturers President John Engler said he’s confident that the Republicans’ ascendance in Congress will boost legislation to block Environmental Protection Agency climate change rules.

An array of business groups want to delay or scuttle EPA restrictions on greenhouse gases from power plants, factories and other sources that begin taking effect next year.

“I think you are going to have considerable oversight in this whole area. I would expect the Republican majority of the House to be more aggressive in asserting congressional prerogative to make the policy in these areas,” Engler said on a conference call with reporters Wednesday, the morning after Republicans recaptured the House and made gains in the Senate.

Engler said the prospects have brightened for Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s (D-W.Va.) plan to put the rules on ice for two years. The plan “has much stronger support today,” said Engler, the former GOP governor of Michigan.

He said the group’s energy agenda includes federal approval for construction of new nuclear power plants, and a resumption of permitting for deepwater oil-and-gas drilling now that the Interior Department has lifted the official moratorium.

Elsewhere, Engler said the role of White House energy and climate adviser Carol Browner should be clarified.

“The line between Carol Browner and [EPA Administrator] Lisa Jackson is completely unclear,” he said.