WASHINGTON – Lisa Jackson, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator, sent a letter on Feb. 22 responding to questions from U.S. Senators about the agency’s plans for 2010.

She outlined several of the decisions she has made for 2010-2011 in her letter, including:

* No facility will be required to address greenhouse gas emissions in Clean Air Act permitting of new construction or modifications before 2011.

For the first half of 2011, only facilities that already must apply for Clean Air Act permits as a result of their non-greenhouse gas emissions will need to address their greenhouse gas emissions in their permit applications.

* E.PA. is also considering a modification to the rule announced in September requiring large facilities emitting more than 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year to obtain permits demonstrating they are using the best practices and technologies to minimize G.H.G. emissions.

* E.P.A. is considering raising that threshold substantially to reflect input provided during the public comment process.

* E.P.A. does not intend to subject smaller facilities to Clean Air Act permitting for greenhouse gas emissions any sooner than 2016.