Senate Confirms Gender Bending Top Air Pollution Official

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GINA MCCARTHY: New assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation served as commissioner at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

The Senate confirmed Gina McCarthy as U.S. EPA's top air official today after her nomination was held up for a month by Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso over concerns about the Obama administration's climate policies.

McCarthy, President Obama's pick to serve as assistant administrator of EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, was approved this morning by a voice vote.

Barrasso released his procedural "hold" on McCarthy late last month, but he voiced his lingering concerns today as the Senate prepared to vote on her nomination.

The Wyoming senator said McCarthy had failed to appropriately respond to questions about how EPA plans to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Barrasso said his concerns stemmed from the agency's recent release of its proposed "endangerment" finding, which states that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. The finding is expected to trigger broad industry regulations if finalized.

"I have nothing personal against the nominee; I simply want to have answers to questions" about EPA's climate regulations, Barrasso said on the Senate floor.

Barrasso warned that widespread litigation would aim to force EPA to regulate entities like farms, hospitals and nursing homes, and could hurt businesses and consumers amid the economic downturn. "The economic consequences of this ticking time bomb will be devastating," Barrasso said.

EPA officials and environmental attorneys have consistently said that the agency would have the authority to limit the scope of Clean Air Act regulations to affect only major sources like power plants and other large emitters.

Barrasso suggested that mounting political pressure to enforce global warming policies is causing lawmakers to rush into climate regulations and legislation without properly evaluating the consequences. He pointed to an unsigned interagency memo sent to EPA by the White House Office of Management and Budget in April, which laid out serious concerns about the possible damaging economic effects of the agency's proposed endangerment finding (Greenwire, May 14).

He also criticized the rush toward finalizing a domestic global warming bill before the international climate negotiations slated to take place this December in Copenhagen without having a better understanding of potential economic impacts.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, offered his support for McCarthy's confirmation and said he expected EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to support legislative efforts to limit the scope of EPA climate regulations.

"I supported Regina McCarthy's nomination today because I think she possesses the knowledge, experience, and temperament to oversee a very important office at EPA," Inhofe said in a statement.

"I supported Sen. Barrasso's hold on her nomination because we needed a greater understanding of how EPA will handle greenhouse gas regulation under the Clean Air Act -- particularly how such regulation would affect thousands of small businesses across the country," Inhofe added. "In a letter to me, Administrator Jackson agreed that the Clean Air Act is a flawed mechanism for addressing global warming. She also agreed that the Act lacks statutory flexibility in important areas, which could be problematic for small businesses, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other small sources."

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article....n-gina-mccarthy