CHARLESTON – The EPA and the Obama Administration announced their new GHG regulations on existing sources in Washington, DC this past Monday morning.
The regulations, which will force existing sources to slash emissions of CO2 by 30 percent from 2005 emissions, by 2030 will force even more coal-fired power plants to close.
Taken together with the recently passed standards on new sources, the threat is that coal’s share of the electric generation market in the U.S. could decrease to approximately 30 percent and putting potentially hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work.
The reaction to the new regulations was swift, strong and united, with political and business leaders across the country promising swift action to stop the implementation of these job-killing rules.
West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney, speaking at a news conference called by Gov. Tomblin that pulled together a strong bipartisan coalition of West Virginia’s political and business leadership, said the regulations are “just another slap in the face by an administration that has gone on record with the intent to shut down coal-fired power generation in this country.”
Though expected, this announcement is nonetheless disappointing in that it makes it clear that all the pleas of our people of the past six years have fallen on deaf ears.
“This rule is bad – like the one for new plants that came before it,” Raney said. “It is bad for West Virginia – and for our coal miners -- because EPS thumbs its nose at them, just like it thumbs its nose at Congress in making these rules. Make no mistake, this is a political battle. It is not a technical battle. This lack of respect for our coal and our coal miners has been clearly shown by the actions of the EPA in making this decision without even attempting to get the input of the people of the coalfields. Further, no hearings are scheduled for West Virginia.”
According to a study released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, if implemented, these rules threaten to suppress the average annual U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $51 billion and lead to an average of 224,000 fewer U.S. jobs every year through 2030, relative to baseline economic forecasts. In addition, U.S. consumers will pay nearly $290 billion more for electricity between 2014 and 2030, or an average of $17 billion more per year, with much of the economic burden placed on the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the country.
Raney joined Gov. Tomblin, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Rep. Nick Rahall, Rep. Shelley Capito, UMWA President Cecil Roberts and Appalachian Power Company President Charles Patton for the news conference.