Dealing With the EPA and Greenhouse Gas

Dealing With the EPA and Greenhouse Gas. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.

Two different bills were introduced in the Senate this week that would stop or delay the Environmental Protection Agency ability to regulate greenhouse gases. 

KRAUSE: We’re encouraged that both sides of the aisle are concerned about the effect that greenhouse gas regulations can have on industry and on the economy and on jobs. 

But American Farm Bureau Regulatory Specialist Rick Krause says the bills approach the situation differently.

KRAUSE: The Republican approach embodied in the bill by Sen. Barrasso and others takes the approach of essentially stripping the EPA authority from regulation of greenhouse gases altogether until Congress has acted.  Sen. Rockefeller embodies the Democratic approach and his approach would be to delay implementation of greenhouse gas rules for a period of two years to allow Congress to act. 

Krause says ideally the two sides will team up to get the legislation passed, because those regulations are a drag on the nation’s economy that will hit everyone.

KRAUSE: EPA actions are going to cause severe impacts to the economy, both to farmers and ranchers and to other segments of the economy, through these increased costs of compliance. The cost that these power companies, refineries and manufacturers will incur to comply with these rules get passed on down to consumers and that will result in higher fuel, fertilizer and energy prices for farms and ranches making it more expensive for them to operate. 

He talks about new legislation introduced by both parties. 

KRAUSE: Both the Republicans in the Senate and the Democrats in the Senate have introduced bills that would stop current regulations of greenhouse gases from taking effect and from further implementation.   I think it’s interesting that both parties believe that this is an issue that should be addressed by Congress, that EPA is moving too fast in regulating greenhouse gases now and that it’s damaging to the economy and will result in loss of jobs.  So we have bipartisan agreement that greenhouse gases regulation at this time by EPA is bad for the country.   

Krause explains that the EPA regulations will not have a significant impact on global warming. 

That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Ag Information Network.