West Virginia Coal Association files comments on the proposed rule
Charleston, WV (December 1, 2014) – The West Virginia Coal Association condemned the EPA’s proposed carbon emission guidelines for existing power plants – also known as the “Clean Power Plan” in comments filed with the agency today.
“This ill-conceived, poorly devised and illegal power grab by the Obama EPA will hurt West Virginians by minimizing the use of West Virginia coal and force the closure of more coal-fired power plants across the country,” Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association said. “It will further reduce the number of West Virginians working in the coal and power generation industries, taking paychecks out of our communities and further jeopardizing our state’s economic prosperity.”
“It will extend up and down through the supply chain to include direct and indirect jobs, impacting every sector of our economy from the mine repair shop to the railroads and from the local pizza place to the school system.” Raney stated, “We need our congressional representatives – Senator Manchin, Senator-elect Capito, Congressman McKinley, Congressmen-elect Mooney and Jenkins – to push the new Congress to do whatever they can to stop this job-killing, economy-smashing plan in its tracks.”
“EPA’s attempt to take regulatory control away from the states will result in unreliable supply and higher electric bills for most Americans,” Raney said.
A recent study by Energy Ventures Analysis found that under these proposed rules, the annual West Virginia household electricity and gas bills will increase by $750 – a 38 percent increase – by 2020. The study found that concentrations of carbon dioxide would only be reduced by one half of one percent.
“President Obama is mandating a move away from low cost, coal-fired electricity to more expensive alternatives for an initiative that will have little to no impact on global climate change,” Raney said. “When you take into account that more than 400 electric generating units across the country are slated for closure or transition to alternative fuels in the coming years, these rules also severely threaten the stability of America’s power grid.”
Raney offered that 58 coal-fired electric generating units across the country that currently use West Virginia coal will be shuttered by 2020. This represents the livelihood of thousands of state residents.
“Over the past several months, more than 12,000 individuals have signed a West Virginia Coal Association petition in opposition to the EPA’s “Clean Power Plan. West Virginians and people across the country truly understand the negative consequences of the EPA’s actions,” Raney said. “These comments will be filed alongside our own, and we hope someone will listen and take action before it’s too late.”
The West Virginia Coal Association is a trade association based in Charleston, West Virginia. It represents approximately 95 percent of the state’s coal production. Founded in 1915, the West Virginia Coal Association is the largest state coal association in the nation.