NPRA ’10: NPRA president says EPA greenhouse gas regs 'foolhardy'

29 March 2010 03:44  [Source: ICIS news]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ICIS news)--National  Petrochemical & Refiners Association (NPRA) president Charles Drevna said on Sunday that attempts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions though the US Clean Air Act were “foolhardy”, adding that the association was pushing to bar or delay the regulations.

Speaking at the International Petrochemical Conference, Drevna said the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) implementation of greenhouse gas regulations would harm the petrochemicals industry.

“Our hope is the EPA and the [President Obama's] administration realises that attempting to regulat[e] greenhouse gases through the Clean Air Act is a foolhardy act,” Drevna said.

In a December ruling, the EPA held that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases cause global warming and thereby threaten Americans’ health and the environment, making greenhouse gases subject to the agency’s regulation under the Clean Air Act.

The NPRA was pushing legislation to counter the regulations, including one by Senator Lisa Murkowski (Republican-Alaska) that would bar the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases by declaring the agency’s 7 December “endangerment finding” to be without force or effect; and another legislation by West Virginia Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller to delay implementation greenhouse gas regulations for stationary emissions sources for two years.

Drevna said the NPRA supports both measures but would prefer the bill by Murkowski.

Hosted by the NPRA, the International Petrochemical Conference continues through Tuesday.

($1 = €0.75)

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