Letter to Barack Obama, President - No to New Coal Power Plant Rules

Letter

Dear President Obama:

Next week, your administration is expected to unveil the most complex, most expensive environmental regulation in American history targeting carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal-fired power plants.

Tens of thousands of West Virginians are directly employed in our state's coal industry. Even more Mountain State residents work to support the coal industry by driving trucks, working on barges, or providing other support services. Tax revenue from coal production funds essential government services in our local communities, helping to pay for our schools, our roads, and our health care services. Because of coal's role in our state's economy, West Virginians will suffer disproportionally from a regulation that is designed to turn our country away from this affordable and abundant natural resource.

Since you announced your Global Climate Change Initiative in June 2013, I have consistently asked for your administration to carefully study the economic impact of proposed regulations and take the time to listen to West Virginians and other Americans who will be negatively impacted. The Environmental Protection Agency held 11 public listening sessions during October and November 2013 to gather public input for the development of the forthcoming existing coal plant rule. The EPA decided not to hold a single listening session in West Virginia or any of the 10 states that rely most on coal for electricity generation. Despite letters from business and labor leaders, requests from members of Congress, and a bipartisan resolution that I introduced in the House of Representatives that simply asked EPA to hold public forums in West Virginia and other coal-reliant states, your administration has refused to give an audience to the men and women who will be most harmed by the existing plant rule.

While the content of next week's proposed rule has not been released, a recent economic study examined the impact of a plan that is reportedly similar to the one that the EPA will propose. This study found that the existing plant rule could cost our economy an average of 224,000 jobs per year every year until 2030. According to this outside study, our nation's share of electricity generated from coal would fall from its current level of nearly 40 percent to 14 percent, decimating coal production in West Virginia and other states. The study estimates that consumers would pay $290 billion more for electricity between now and 2030, an average of $17 billion per year.

The impact of a rule that is similar to the one studied would be catastrophic for West Virginia families whose livelihoods depend on a vibrant coal industry. Washington should not pick winners and losers in the energy economy. Even worse, if your administration goes forward with a plan similar to the one expected by many published reports, it will have chosen these winners and losers without so much as listening to the opinions of the Americans who will be harmed.

Recent reductions in carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. energy sector have been dwarfed by increased emissions globally. In 2012, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from energy production fell by 200 million tons, but this decrease was more than offset by China's 300 million-ton increase in carbon dioxide emissions that same year. Nations like China and India continue to place new coal capacity online at a rapid pace to power their domestic economies. Regulations that prevent our country from making use of coal to provide jobs and low-cost electricity will increasingly make us less competitive globally while having no significant impact on global carbon dioxide emissions.

I have introduced legislation that would suspend implementation of U.S. greenhouse gas emission standards from coal plants until countries producing 80 percent of non-U.S. carbon dioxide emissions enact regulations that are at least as stringent as those proposed by the EPA. The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would require EPA to base its new source performance standards for new coal plants on emission levels achieved by the best current coal plants, rather than on unproven technology that your administration's third National Climate Assessment released on May 6, 2014, admits is still in the development phase. This legislation would also delay implementation of the existing plant rules pending congressional approval.

I urge you to consider the impact that your administration's existing coal plant rule will have on the people of my state of West Virginia who want to go to work, provide for their families, and produce affordable energy that powers our economy. I urge you to think of the impact that higher electricity prices will have on senior citizens and others on fixed incomes. I urge you to step back and listen to the voices of those who will be harmed the most by the EPA's rulemaking and avoid proposing a rule that will destroy economic opportunity in West Virginia and across our country.

Sincerely,

Shelley Moore Capito
Member of Congress

Source