USA congress
USA introduce legislation for the regulation of GHG emissions
January 4, 2013 | 
Author Efforts to strip the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the regulatory power to curb greenhouse gas emissions have been delayed until next year, after Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller conceded late last week that he would not be able to secure a Senate vote on proposals to block new EPA carbon rules for two years.
Rules requiring carbon-intensive power stations and industrial plants to obtain permits demonstrating that any new facilities or upgrades use only the most efficient technologies available will now come into effect in Jan 2011 as planned.
Senator Rockefeller, who represents the coal-rich state of West Virginia, had been pushing for a vote in the Senate that would delay the new rules by two years, arguing that their introduction would harm the economy and push up energy bills.
However, recently he issued a statement conceding that he had not secured the support required to trigger a vote.
“Republican proponents of my bill to suspend EPA regulations on greenhouse gas emissions have pulled their support for this year so that they can gain some political advantage trying to take over this issue in 2011,” he said.
The Republicans have signaled that they will move to strip the EPA of its power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions when they take control of the House of Representatives next month.
The EPA and the Obama administration maintain that using the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act represent the only route open to them after Congress consistently failed to pass energy and climate change legislation.
They also point to a series of independent reports that suggest the EPA’s new rules will have a minimal impact on the economy and energy bills while helping to deliver cuts in carbon emissions.
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Ignorance is NO Excuse!
The amount of times I hear business owners say ” I didn’t know we needed to be” or ” I thought it only applied to large companies” is staggering. There really is no excuse for not knowing about what environmental legislation affects their business. The buck stops with them!
A recent case concerning Anderton Concrete Products Ltd highlights this ignorance, the following is directly from the EA:
Concrete company fails to comply with packaging regulations
Leicestershire concrete manufacturer ordered to pay over £50,000 fines and costs for failing to register and recycle packaging waste.
Anderton Concrete Products Ltd, pleaded guilty today (28 Jan 2011) at Coalville Magistrates’ Court to 18 offences under the Packaging Regulations, and asked for a further 12 to be taken into account.
The company was fined £36,000, ordered to pay £5,712.55 in costs, £8,408 in compensation, and a £15 victim surcharge.
The company, of Leicester Road, Ibstock, Leicestershire, should have been registered with the Environment Agency or a compliance scheme since the year 2000 and was obliged to recover and recycle packaging waste, as well as filing a certificate at the end of each year to confirm it had met these obligations.
However, the company did not register with a compliance scheme until 2010.
The court heard a routine check by the Environment Agency in January 2010 established that the company should have been registered in previous years.
The company’s explanation for failing to comply with the packaging waste regulations was that it was unaware that it was an obligated company under the regulations.
By failing to register, the company had avoided fees and other costs of £23,615.
Speaking after the case an Environment Officer said: “The packaging regulations are designed to reduce the amount of packaging used by businesses and increase the amount of packaging waste recycled. This case highlights the need for businesses to make sure they understand their responsibility.”
In mitigation, the court heard that the company had entered an early guilty plea, had cooperated fully with the investigation and were not aware that the company were obligated under the regulations. It was an oversight not a deliberate intention to evade the regulations. In addition, the company is now fully compliant.
The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997, 2005 and 2007 (as amended).
As you can see, being ignorant really is a costly business.
At Be seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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