Would EPA action be redundant with potential future legislation to regulate GHG emissions?
Any future act of Congress to regulate GHG emissions through a cap-and-trade program or other approach could be redundant or conflict with potential EPA regulations under the Clean Air Act. The only way to avoid such conflicts is to clarify in legislation where current Clean Air Act authority remains and where new statutory authority prevails. Many current legislative proposals take an approach that would issue a series of amendments to the Clean Air Act rather than a new, stand-alone act of Congress. How would EPA rules interact with state GHG regulations? Generally, states have been allowed to enact stricter standards than those issued by the EPA for air pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act—though this dynamic is still in flux. It is unlikely that the current conventions governing state and federal roles in regulating air pollutants under the Clean Air Act would change if GHG emissions are incorporated. However, new legislation could include provisions that alter the current
