Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
6/26/2015
The House of Representative this week approved by a vote of 247-180 Rep. Ed Whitfield’s (R-Ky.) “Ratepayer Protection Act,” which is intended to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing proposed carbon emissions standards for coal-fired power plants. The EPA’s proposal, which is due to be finalized in August, would set state-specific emissions reduction goals and requires states to develop and submit action plans to meet those goals through whatever means the state finds most appropriate. Whitfield’s bill would allow States to opt-out of complying with the rule if it is found that compliance would have significant negative impacts on the state. The bill also pushes back compliance deadlines in the regulation until all legal challenges against the rule are resolved. “This bill is simple. It simply gives States more time. We are not repealing this power grab of a regulation, but simply responding to requests from the States and other entities,” Whitfield said, presenting the bill on the House floor.
Democrats spoke against the bill, calling it premature as the EPA regulation has yet to be finalized and noting that the bill does not limit the time allowed for deadline extensions related to judicial review. “This bill establishes an unprecedented extension for every Clean Power Plan deadline until all litigation is concluded. This blanket extension would be given to all polluters, incentivizing opponents of the rule to run the clock on frivolous litigation, simply to put off having to reduce their carbon emissions,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said on the floor. Pallone went on to note that the provision of the bill allowing Governors the option to opt-out of the bill will disadvantage those states willing to take responsibility for their emissions. “The bill also allows a Governor to say: ‘The requirements of the Clean Power Plan don’t apply to me.’ Under the bill, a Governor can opt out of a federal plan, giving certain states a free ride to pollute without any consequences. It is one thing to encourage States to just say no, but to let a Governor declare that his State is not subject to the federal Clean Air Act at all? … I think that just goes too far,” Pallone said.
The bill was met with a Statement of Administration Policy from the Office of Management and Budget threatening a veto if the bill were to pass the Senate and land on the President’s desk. “The bill is premature and unnecessary. It is premature because the Clean Power Plan has not yet been finalized; it is unnecessary because EPA has made clear its commitment to address concerns raised during the public comment period (including concerns related to cost and reliability) when issuing the final Clean Power Plan this summer and working with the States on the development of the State Plans. The effect of the bill would therefore be a wholly unnecessary postponement of reductions of harmful air pollution,” the statement says. According to the statement, the bill “threatens the health and economic welfare of current and future generations by blocking important standards to reduce carbon pollution from the power sector.”
Just Say No Slowly Gaining Momentum
Governor of Indiana Michael Pence (R) also took a stand against the proposed regulation this week, announcing in a letter to President Obama that the state will not submit a state implementation plan (SIP) for compliance with the rule. Under the proposed rule, if a state does not submit a SIP, the EPA has the authority to enforce a federal implementation plan (FIP). A recent campaign led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), has called on states to refuse to submit SIPs based on a belief that the Clean Power Plan will be struck down in court following its finalization this summer. “If your administration proceeds to finalize the Clean Power Plan, and the final rule has not demonstrably and significantly improved from the proposed rule, Indiana will not comply. Our state will also reserve the right to use any legal means available to block the rule from being implemented. I believe the Clean Power Plan as proposed is a vast overreach of federal power that exceeds the EPA’s proper legal authority and fails to strike the proper balance between the health of the environment and the health of the economy," Pence wrote.
