Editor's Note: API President and CEO Jack Gerard applauded members of Congress who today voted to preserve American jobs by blocking EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. Gerard noted that while no single amendment won enough votes to pass in the Senate, "more than 60 Senators - an overwhelming majority - voted in one way or another to keep the EPA from moving forward." Gerard also called on President Obama to work with this bipartisan group to come to an agreement:

"Today is another step toward victory for American consumers who can't afford EPA's unnecessary regulations that could raise the cost of the energy and destroy jobs. Today's votes show that a growing bipartisan coalition recognizes that Congress, not unelected agency officials, should be setting the energy and economic poli... more »

The U.S. Senate could vote today on measures addressing the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from stationary sources. These measures and the EPA's regulatory proposal on ozone were the topics of discussion in a blogger conference call on Tuesday. Howard Feldman, API's director of scientific and regulatory affairs; Misty McGowen, director of federal relations; and Khary Cauthen, director of federal relations, took questions from bloggers about Congressional action to limit EPA overreach.

Ms. McGowen explained that there is a "groundswell of activity" on EPA regulation of greenhouse gases in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. In particular, she highlighted Sen. McConnell's, Sen. Rockefeller's and Sen. Baucus' amendments... more »

On Saturday, February 19th the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, for 2011. The Continuing Resolution (CR), which would fund the government through the end of Fiscal Year 2011, includes provisions that limit funding for several Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) actions that have been called prime examples of the agency overreaching its authority. In lopsided votes, the House voted to cut funding to implement EPA's E15 waivers, its decision block to air quality permits that are a requirement for drilling permits on Alaska's Arctic coast, and its rules to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Since the beginning of this year, EPA has been phasing in GHG regulations that are aimed at reducing emissions from stationary sources, inclu... more »

On January 2, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began regulating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from stationary sources under the Clean Air Act. EPA's stationary source regulation risks significant adverse impacts on investment, expansion and job creation in today's fragile economy, raises significant legal concerns, and places a tremendous regulatory burden on state resources.

These regulations will eventually impact as many as six million of America's industrial facilities, power plants, hospitals, and agricultural and commercial establishments. In order to comply, businesses would need to obtain permits before moving forward with construction and modification. EPA has never estimated the cost to stationary sources.

EPA has recently released guidance to permitting authorit... more »

Did you know that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to levy taxes? If you're scratching your head over this tidbit of information, you're not alone.

Here's the issue: A couple of weeks ago, the EPA determined that the amount of cellulosic ethanol that should be included in the nation's gasoline pool should be increased from five million to six million gallons in 2011. The goal is to ensure there is a market for this new fuel that is supposed to be made from switchgrass, wood chips, or other forms of cellulose-rich materials.

The problem is that there is virtually no cellulosic ethanol on the market today. The technology hasn't developed to the point where large quantities of this fuel can be produced.

Still, the oil and natural gas industry is expected to com... more »