HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 52

BY  PAUSTIAN

A Resolution calling for the curtailment and assessment of air quality regulation by the United States environmental protection agency.

   WHEREAS, the United States environmental protection agency (EPA) has proposed or is proposing numerous new air quality regulations that have had and will potentially have an enormous negative effect on this state’s residential, commercial, and industrial energy consumers by increasing rates; and
   WHEREAS, the EPA’s regulatory activity regarding air quality and greenhouse gases has been referred to as a “train wreck” because of the numerous and overlapping requirements, the uncertainty created by the continual demand to upgrade or comply with a new set of regulations, and the potentially devastating consequences this regulatory activity may have on the economy of this state; and
   WHEREAS, the EPA has not undertaken any comprehensive study of the cumulative effects of this new regulatory activity on the economy, jobs, and competitiveness of the United States; nor has it performed any comprehensive study of the prospective environmental benefits of its greenhouse gas regulation in terms of the impact on global climate change; and
   WHEREAS, having identified taking action on climate change and improving air quality as its first strategic goal for the 2011-2015 time period, the EPA should be required to identify the specific actions it intends to take to achieve these goals and to assess the total cost of the actions required to achieve them; and
   WHEREAS, the General Assembly of the State of Iowa supports continuing improvements in the quality of the nation’s air and believes that such improvements can be made in a sensible fashion without damaging the economy so long as there is a full understanding of the cost of the regulations at issue; and
   WHEREAS, the regulations under consideration could pose significant compliance challenges for the electric power sector, both with respect to economic burden and the feasibility of implementation by the contemplated deadlines; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That the House of Representatives supports the imposition of a moratorium on enforcement of rules regulating greenhouse gas emissions for a period of at least two years, and a moratorium on enforcement of existing or proposed rules regulating air quality for at least two years, except air quality regulation which the EPA can document by a preponderance of evidence will result in an imminent or irreversible threat to public health or the environment if subject to a delay in implementation; and

   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives supports requiring the EPA to undertake a study, drawing on the expertise of both the EPA and federal agencies and departments possessing expertise in and responsibility for the United States economy and electric utility generation and regulation, to identify all regulatory activity that the EPA intends to undertake in furtherance of its goal of taking action on climate change and improving air quality. The study should specify the cumulative effects of these regulations on the economy, jobs, and competitiveness of the United States, and provide an objective cost-benefit analysis of the EPA’s current and anticipated air quality regulation; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the members of Iowa’s congressional delegation.