On March 11, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA), both senior Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and strong advocates of aggressive climate change legislation, introduced a bill (H.R. 5575) that would, effectively, impose a moratorium on new coal-fired generating units, unless they included carbon capture and sequestration technology. Rep. Markey is also the chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
The bill would:
- Prohibit any permitting authority from issuing a permit for a new coal-fired plant unit unless the plant included state-of-the-art technology to capture and permanently sequester carbon dioxide (CO2);
- Define "state-of-the-art" as technology that would capture 85% of CO2 emitted by the plant and sequester it in a geological formation approved by the Environmental Protection Agency;
- Maintain the moratorium until a comprehensive program for greenhouse gas emissions reductions is in place; and
- Prevent any coal-fired plant that commences construction after the date of introduction of the bill from receiving emissions allowances at no cost or at any price below market price.
The Waxman-Markey bill adds a federal dimension to the multi-pronged attack on new coal plants that environmental organizations and other groups have undertaken across the country.
Rep. Markey also announced recently that he plans to float several proposals on how to address climate change to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), which will likely increase pressure on Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) and Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA), who have, to date, not circulated any draft legislation.
To that end, Dingell announced two weeks ago that he hoped to release a draft bill by mid-April. To date, Dingell and Boucher have not discussed specifics about what a climate change bill would contain. Instead, they have issued a series of "white papers" on key issues that must be addressed in comprehensive climate change legislation: e.g. the scope and coverage of a cap-and-trade program, how to ensure participation by other countries, and the respective roles of federal, state and local governments in implementing climate change programs. A specific timeframe for moving a bill through the subcommittee and full committee has not yet been announced. In the meantime, additional white papers are expected.