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AUSTIN – The Texas Public Policy Foundation today filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency challenging the EPA’s 2009 endangerment finding designating man-made greenhouse gas emissions as a danger to human health and welfare. Along with Liberty Packing Company LLC, TPPF represents a coalition of construction, trucking, energy, logging, and manufacturing small businesses as petitioners seeking reconsideration of the EPA regulation. “The EPA endangerment finding represents abuse of the EPA regulatory process under the Obama Administration, rather than objective, science-based action,” said Robert Henneke, director for TPPF’s Center for the American Future. “Federal law requires this type of EPA regulation be reviewed by the Science Advisory Board to ensure validity of the underlying research and data. The Foundation’s petition to rescind the endangerment finding seeks to respect the rule of law by undoing this past unlawful act by the EPA.” The petition calls for the reconsideration of the endangerment finding, but this time in compliance with the federal statutory mandate that the regulation be reviewed by the Science Advisory Board. “In its rush to regulate greenhouse gases in 2009, the Obama Administration missed an important step,” said Ted Hadzi-Antich, senior attorney for TPPF’s Center for the American Future. “It utterly failed to submit the greenhouse gas endangerment finding to the Science Advisory Board for peer review, as required by statute, and that violation is fatal to the endangerment finding.” The 2009 finding paved the way for stringent federal carbon dioxide emissions standards and gave the EPA unprecedented regulatory power because carbon dioxide is everywhere. “Because the most prevalent greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, a ubiquitous natural substance, the endangerment finding has been used by the EPA to begin regulating virtually every nook and cranny of the national economy,” said Hadzi-Antich. “A regulatory action of such magnitude must be taken soberly and, at the very least, in compliance with the law.” “The EPA may reverse the prior administration’s decisions and interpretations of the statutes it administers, even where courts have upheld the previous policies,” said Ryan Walters, attorney for TPPF’s Center for the American Future. “This administrative petition provides a roadmap to restore the rule of law and sound science at EPA.” The petition can be found here: http://txpo.li/2qoX1q4 For more information or to request an interview with Mr. Henneke, Mr. Ted Hadzi-Antich or Mr. Walters, please contact Alicia Pierce at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
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