The Obama administration is preparing to defend its greenhouse gas policies after Republicans take control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year, the Environmental Protection Agency's top clean-air regulator said Thursday.

"There is no question that we will be under increased scrutiny or continued scrutiny," Gina McCarthy, EPA's assistant administrator for air policy, said at a conference hosted by the American Law Institute-American Bar Association.

Much of the stepped-up oversight from Capitol Hill is likely to focus on EPA's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, refiners and other facilities.

After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions could be regulated under the Clean Air Act, the EPA developed a series of rules over the last year to address the emissions.

The EPA issued a particularly controversial rule earlier this year that forces certain types of facilities to obtain greenhouse gas permits.

That rule, which goes into effect Jan. 2, is the subject of ongoing lawsuits.

Several lawmakers in Congress oppose the EPA's actions and say the agency doesn't have the authority to draft these rules. Some of the lawmakers, including Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D., W.V.), want to use legislation to stop the agency from pursuing its course of action.

McCarthy said the agency is confident it will be able to defends its actions, however.

"We welcome that" oversight and "we're glad to provide information," she said.
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