Closing the Gap: Using the Clean Air Act to Control Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy Facilities

As the United States moves forward with regulations and policies to control greenhouse gas emissions from energy facilities, regulators and policymakers should require proposed energy facilities to undergo a lifecycle greenhouse gas analysis. Scientific research demonstrates that a significant portion of the total emissions from a particular facility occur upstream or throughout the lifecycle of the resource production process. A lifecycle greenhouse gas analysis, therefore, will ensure that the total consequences of a particular facility or energy resource will be taken into account. In addition, such an analysis would help identify cost-effective opportunities to reduce emissions. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has an opportunity to require lifecycle analysis for energy facilities as it crafts new Clean Air Act regulations to control greenhouse gas emissions. Congress has recognized the value of lifecycle analysis in the Renewable Fuels Standard, which now affirmatively requires EPA to conduct lifecycle analysis for certain biofuels. This Note considers whether EPA also has the authority to require proposed energy facilities subject to Clean Air Act's pre-construction review to undergo a similar analysis. Reviewing the provisions of the Clean Air Act that govern emissions from energy facilities, this Note concludes that EPA does have the authority to require lifecycle greenhouse gas analysis for proposed energy facilities.