HELENA - A bipartisan legislative panel Friday voted to delay the creation of rules to regulate greenhouse gases as a pollutant in Montana, after a host of business interests objected to the initiative.
"I think we need to slow things down and get some answers," said Rep. Mike Milburn, R-Cascade, who made the motion to formally object to the Board of Environmental Review's rule-making process.
The Environmental Quality Council, a legislative and citizen panel that examines environmental issues for the Legislature, voted 10-6 to support Milburn's motion.
The objection means the Board of Environmental Review, which is appointed by the governor, can continue to work on greenhouse gas regulations, but can't issue them sooner than June.
Democratic Sens. Jim Keane of Butte and Bradley Hamlett of Cascade voted with all six of the panel's Republicans to object to the rule. The panel's four citizen members split 2-2 on the issue.
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"We need to halt that (process)," said Keane. "We don't need to be out front on this issue in a tough economy."
The Board of Environmental Review decided last month to start drafting greenhouse gas rules for the state, so Montana could be prepared for rules that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it intends to issue.
Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are the major cause of climate change and global warming.
Richard Opper, director of the state Department of Environmental Quality, said Friday if the federal EPA adds greenhouse gases to the list of pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act, Montana would have to start regulating those gases immediately.
Without its own set of rules, the state might end up having to enforce rules that would be harmful to Montanans and Montana businesses, he said. Going ahead with state rules, as proposed by the Board of Environmental Review, would ensure that regulations on Montanans would be less onerous, Opper said.
"Our goal is to reduce the regulatory burden for the people of this state," he said.
He also noted that the rule would be temporary, expiring in 2011, and wouldn't take effect unless the EPA acted on greenhouse gases.
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Yet lobbyists representing oil, agriculture, coal and other business interests told the EQC that they oppose the state going ahead with the rules. Montana would be the only state taking these steps before the EPA acts, creating uncertainty that businesses don't need, they said.
Several business spokesmen also held a news conference at the Capitol, saying Montana could become a "everybody's lab rat" in a legal battleground over the rules.
"We know it's going to be litigated," said Jason Priest of the group Montana Growth Network. "That is putting Montana at the forefront of an extremely contentious process."
Rep. Sue Dickenson, D-Great Falls, urged fellow EQC members to vote against the motion to slow down the rule. The board has just begun the process, and the panel can object any time it wants, she said, and should wait to see what the rule might look like.
Dickenson said board members are people with expertise on environmental and scientific issues, and that EQC doesn't need to be second-guessing it.
"We owe it to this group to allow them to continue with their process, and not interject at this time," she said.
