Senate Dem considering bill to delay EPA climate rules by one year

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is mulling legislation that would block the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions for one year.

The proposal may be more palatable for some on-the-fence lawmakers than the two-year delay proposed by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.).

But Brown has not yet drafted any legislation and is still reviewing his options, a spokeswoman says. “He is reviewing multiple variations of the Rockefeller bill, such as a one-year delay,” Brown spokeswoman Meghan Dubyak told The Hill. “Most importantly, he wants to address this issue soon to provide certainty to the industries in his state that are planning expansions as the economy recovers.”

Brown has been discussing the idea of a one-year delay of EPA’s climate authority with his fellow lawmakers for months. But the issue is heating up in the 112th Congress, with EPA’s climate rules taking effect earlier this month and broader greenhouse gas standards on power plants and refineries slated for 2012.

In the Capitol on Thursday, Rockefeller told reporters that he does not believe a one-year delay is adequate. He said two years is needed to make enough progress on carbon capture and storage technologies. The technology is considered far away from any widespread commercial adoption, but Rockefeller said even waiting two years before regulating would help.

“It is to give that a chance to get going,” Rockefeller said, later adding that his goal is “to get the technology accepted in the marketplace sufficiently so it will begin to fund itself.”

Rockefeller plans to reintroduce his legislation early this year. Republicans, meanwhile, hope to permanently block EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, or delay it until a number of lawsuits on the issue work their way through the courts. On Thursday, dozens of House lawmakers introduced a bill to overturn EPA's climate authority.

Ben Geman contributed.