The agency's decision regarding the Utah plant and any future decisions following that precedent could affect investment of "tens of billions of dollars in a new generation of highly polluting power plants that will drive substantial additional global warming, without mitigating those effects," Waxman added.

While the Bonanza plant would be relatively small, it would release up to 90 million tons of carbon dioxide over an estimated 50-year lifetime of the plant, the letter said.

Waxman charged that the EPA is arguing that because it has not regulated carbon-dioxide emissions in the past, it can't do it now. The agency's stance amounts to a "bootstrap argument that conflicts with the plain language" of the law and blatantly misconstrues the recent Supreme Court ruling, he said.

Waxman called for the EPA to reconsider its position and not approve any new projects until it has considered options for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from the plants. "If you decline to do so, I request a detailed explanation of the policy, legal, and technical grounds for such a position," he wrote.

Waxman also asked that the EPA chief cooperate with the committee's investigation in the process that led to the Deseret Power decision. He requested that Johnson provide the committee with copies of all documents "related to communications between EPA and any other federal agency or the White House" that may be involved. Waxman did not say whether the committee already knows of any White House involvement.

Emond, the EPA deputy press secretary, said in an e-mail Wednesday that the agency would respond to the congressman's letter "in a timely manner." She also reiterated that the EPA does not have authority to regulate greenhouse gases from stationary sources.

Keith Hill, director of retail marketing for Deseret Power, declined to comment Wednesday.

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E-mail: bau@desnews.com