The TRAIN Act, which is a well-intentioned try to get some regulations out of the way of American business, will do more harm than good. Creeling already outlined his objections to the bill, pointing out its flawed decision-making mechanism. In addition to those flaws, it has legal ramifications as well. As I wrote a few days ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA alone is able to make federal rules about greenhouse gas emissions; so if people who want to sue somebody over greenhouse gasses in federal court they will have to sue the EPA. The TRAIN Act takes away the power of the EPA to do that, leaving the door open for environmental groups to sue utilities directly. This would mean more lawsuits between more parties in more courts across the country. This could result in a mess of differing outcomes in different districts, making it harder for businesses to know exactly what the law is in their area. Leaving these regulations to the EPA means that one agency is responsible for making these decisions, and means that one agency is accountable[1]. If people want to see change in these regulations, they need to work to get like-minded people into the EPA and lobby it to make what they consider the right decision.
[1] If there is ever accountability in these agencies, but that’s a different post for a different day.
No comments:
Post a Comment