Obama Will Use Nixon Era Law To Drive Up Energy Costs

[BDKJMU]

and construction costs...

"Obama Will Use Nixon-Era Law to Fight Climate Change

President Barack Obama is preparing to tell all federal agencies for the first time that they should consider the impact on global warming before approving major projects, from pipelines to highways.
The result could be significant delays for natural gas- export facilities, ports for coal sales to Asia, and even new forest roads, industry lobbyists warn.

“It’s got us very freaked out,” said Ross Eisenberg, vice president of the National Association of Manufacturers, a Washington-based group that represents 11,000 companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Southern Co. The standards, which constitute guidance for agencies and not new regulations, are set to be issued in the coming weeks, according to lawyers briefed by administration officials.....

....While some U.S. agencies already take climate change into account when assessing projects, the new guidelines would apply across-the-board to all federal reviews. Industry lobbyists say they worry that projects could be tied up in lawsuits or administrative delays.

For example, Ambre Energy Ltd. is seeking a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to build a coal-export facility at the Port of Morrow in Oregon. Under existing rules, officials weighing approval would consider whether ships in the port would foul the water or generate air pollution locally. The Environmental Protection Agency and activist groups say that review should be broadened to account for the greenhouse gases emitted when exported coal is burned in power plants in Asia......

......Lawyers and lobbyists are now waiting for the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality to issue the long bottled-up standards for how agencies should address climate change under the National Environmental Policy Act, signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1970.
Environmental Impact

NEPA requires federal agencies to consider and publish the environmental impact of their actions before making decisions. Those reviews don’t mandate a specific course of action. They do provide a chance for citizens and environmentalists to weigh in before regulators decide on an action -- and to challenge those reviews in court if it’s cleared.....

......The White House guidance itself won’t force any projects to be stopped outright. Instead, it’s likely to prompt lawsuits against federal projects on these grounds, and increase the probability that courts will step in and order extensive reviews as part of the “adequate analysis” required in the law, said George Mannina, an attorney at Nossaman LLP in Washington.

Next Administration

“The question is: Where does this analysis take us?” he said. “Adequate analysis may be much broader than the agency and applicant might consider.”

While the Obama administration’s guidance could be easily rescinded by the next administration, the court rulings that stem from these cases will live on as precedents, Mannina said........

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-1 ... hange.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BDKJMU]

Will have negligible impact on the environment, while having a markedly negative impact on the economy. Will end up causing higher energy & construction costs. Higher costs for for manufactured goods. Will cost jobs. At the same time Obamacare is kicking in. And it will be regressive, with the lower income and middle class being hurt the most.

Stupid donks.

[LeadBolt]

Another example of ideology over reasoned action or not knowing how things fit together and how actions that impact in one area effect another. All this will do is slow everything down with reviews and law suits, cost Americans jobs in exporting our new found energy reserves, and cause the cost of fuel here to go up rather than down as it should.

Does Obama really think that by the US not building facilities to export fossil fuels we will slow the growth of consumption of those overseas and effect the environment? All this will do is shift jobs overseas, where other countries are not as environmentally sensitive as we are in extracting the energy resources and actually increase pollution. PRB coal, which is to be exported via the facility in Port Morrow is among the least polluting in the world. Perhaps it will be replaced by more highly polluting Polish fuel.

Geesh, what a bone head...

[dbackjon]

Good. This should also apply to imports. A tax should be applied based on how dirty the factory is.

This will negate the advantage that China has, bring manufacturering back to the US. Win-win!

[grizzaholic]

Good. This should also apply to imports. A tax should be applied based on how dirty the factory is.

This will negate the advantage that China has, bring manufacturering back to the US. Win-win!

How would they regulate the potting soil factories?

[BDKJMU]

Good. This should also apply to imports. A tax should be applied based on how dirty the factory is.

This will negate the advantage that China has, bring manufacturering back to the US. Win-win!

This will do nothing to bring back manufacturing to the US.

Why do you want to hurt the lower and middle classes by making them pay more for stuff?

[GannonFan]

Good. This should also apply to imports. A tax should be applied based on how dirty the factory is.

This will negate the advantage that China has, bring manufacturering back to the US. Win-win!

Is your last name Hawley or is it Smoot? Wonder how this idea (jacking up tarriffs on imports) worked the last time that we were dealing with a slow economy and an even worse global economic environment. And in case you haven't been noticing, the exodus from China has been underway for some time now.

[kalm]

1) I like clean air and water...quite a bit.

2) "Port of Morrow" is the worst Shins album...by far.

[YoUDeeMan]

Good. This should also apply to imports. A tax should be applied based on how dirty the factory is.

This will negate the advantage that China has, bring manufacturering back to the US. Win-win!

Is your last name Hawley or is it Smoot? Wonder how this idea (jacking up tarriffs on imports) worked the last time that we were dealing with a slow economy and an even worse global economic environment. And in case you haven't been noticing, the exodus from China has been underway for some time now.

Hawley-Smoot? Well done, GF...I just had another flashback chuckle to Dave Barry.

[BDKJMU]

1) I like clean air and water...quite a bit.

2) "Port of Morrow" is the worst Shins album...by far.

So do I. But that is not what this is about. NEPA already covers that. This will make fed agencies to take NEPA a step further for every project to consider impacts on so called global warming.

[GannonFan]

Is your last name Hawley or is it Smoot? Wonder how this idea (jacking up tarriffs on imports) worked the last time that we were dealing with a slow economy and an even worse global economic environment. And in case you haven't been noticing, the exodus from China has been underway for some time now.

Hawley-Smoot? Well done, GF...I just had another flashback chuckle to Dave Barry.

I bet the date all of this becomes effective is October 17th. And all the while women and minority groups will continue to make great contributions.

[uofmman1122]

1) I like clean air and water...quite a bit.

2) "Port of Morrow" is the worst Shins album...by far.

I know, right?

[mrklean]

OBama will use LBJ Era Law to make U.S. Males Balls itch more.