Preemption and Alteration of EPA and State Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gases in the Kerry-Lieberman Bill

Authors

Bradford McCormick, Columbia Law School
Hannah Chang, Columbia Law School, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Document Type

Paper

Publication Date

2010

Abstract

The recently-released discussion draft of the Kerry-Lieberman bill (KL), officially titled the American Power Act, contains numerous provisions that affect the role of states in addressing climate change as well as the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA). Preemption has been the subject of intense debate and speculation since the passage of the Waxman-Markey climate bill (WM) in June 2009, and commentators have questioned whether KL’s preemption measures would (and should) have the effect of “a scalpel or a sledgehammer” on existing state and EPA authority. The following paper contributes to the discussion by summarizing KL’s preemption and alteration of state climate change regulatory authority and EPA authority to regulate GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act.

Disciplines

Environmental Law | Law

Recommended Citation

Bradford McCormick & Hannah Chang, Preemption and Alteration of EPA and State Authority to Regulate Greenhouse Gases in the Kerry-Lieberman Bill, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School, May 2010 (2010).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sabin_climate_change/172

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