Command Without Control: Why Cap-and-Trade Should Replace Rate Standards for Regional Pollutants

March 2001
Citation:
31
ELR 10330
Issue
3
Author
Byron Swift

I. Introduction

While current environmental laws provide us with an adequate environmental protection system, they must be reformed if we hope to achieve an excellent one. This Dialogue examines regulation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the power sector over the past years, and provides a direct comparison of the rate-based methods used in both the Title IV and new source review (NSR) programs of the Clean Air Act (CAA)1 with cap-and-trade programs that have been established for both pollutants. This examination reveals the need to move away from the use of end-of-pipe rate standards and the old source/new source distinction in order to create an efficient and effective regulatory system that embraces the principles of pollution prevention and sustainable development.

Byron Swift is a Senior Attorney and Director of the Energy and Innovation Center at the Environmental Law Institute. His work addresses issues in designing environmental law to achieve high environmental quality while promoting innovation and lowering costs. He can be contacted by e-mail at swift@eli.org. An overview of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide regulation of power plants in the 1990s will be published in 14 TUL. ENVTL. L.J. 1 (2000). Background research for this Article was supported in part by The Joyce Foundation and A.W. Mellon Foundation. The author thanks these foundations, and the many others who generously provided advice and data, with particular thanks to the Clean Air Markets Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Joel Bluestein, Dallas Burtraw, Denny Ellerman, and Debra Knopman. The views expressed are of the author, and not necessarily those of the Environmental Law Institute, The Joyce Foundation, or the A.W. Mellon Foundation.

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Command Without Control: Why Cap-and-Trade Should Replace Rate Standards for Regional Pollutants

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