GHG Daily
1/22/2016
The Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, the Clean Power Plan, came into effect in late December, but the agency will continue its outreach efforts to help states meet the new mandate, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told a gathering of U.S. mayors Thursday morning.
“We are doubling down in terms of the outreach and engagement,” McCarthy said at the winter gathering of the United States Conference of Mayors. “We’re doing [this] so that as states are looking for the most creative ways to do this that will maintain reliability, keep those energy costs low, that we provide them resources and help in technical assistance to be able to get it done in a way that they can meet their obligations but also continue to drive our shared economy moving forward.”
The Clean Power Plan requires states to develop action plans to meet federally set, state-specific carbon emissions reduction goals. More than half of the states in the nation and numerous businesses, trade organizations, and interest groups have filed a combined legal challenge against the rule. This is par for the course, McCarthy said, and shouldn’t be paid much attention.
“If you’re hearing that we’re getting sued, just think to yourself there’s nothing new in this. It happens every time, but below that there is a level of engagement that is really positive, really interactive, and that I think indicates everybody’s willingness to take advantage of climate action as a way to keep costs down and a way to continue to grow our clean energy economy,” McCarthy said.
The administrator further stated, with a laugh, that while “a number of states are suing us, the lesser advertised fact is we’re working with every one of those states.”
McCarthy defended the states suing over the rule: “They have every right to protect their own interests.” However, regardless of the suit, she believes those states involved in the legal action know that “in the end” it is in everybody’s best interest to follow the law.
EPA Does Not Choose Winning Fuels
The EPA is not in the business of choosing what fuel sources get used in the U.S., McCarthy said. “We track pollution, we don’t provide direction on what energy sources folks want to use. Even if you look in the Clean Power Plan, our analysis shows that coal is going to be a significant part of the system,” she said when asked if the agency had a hand in the recent announcement of the planned closure of coal plants in Oregon.