Oil industry: There’s not enough time to review EPA’s power plant emissions guidance

The Environmental Protection Agency released its guidance for determining the best technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at large facilities today — too close, says the American Petroleum Institute, the country’s most powerful oil and gas trade group, to the date when the agency’s regulations go into effect.

The EPA issued the guidance today in advance of a January start date for first-of-their-kind limits on greenhouse gas emissions from large facilities like power plants. Industry groups have railed against the rules, citing their potential cost and arguing that the EPA should not be regulating greenhouse gas emissions in the first place.

In a statement, API Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs Howard Feldman said:

The EPA is railroading job killing regulations onto states, localities and America’s businesses, during a time of uncertain economic recovery, without giving those affected adequate time to review, provide comments, or even implement the new regulations. EPA’s regulations take effect January 2, 2011, but it’s already November and EPA is just now releasing guidance documents for permitting.