EPA to Hold Public Hearing in Charleston on Clean Power Plan

Via The Bluefield Daily Telegraph:

CHARLESTON — State residents will have a chance to tell federal regulators their views on an emissions restriction plan that the Trump Administration is trying to repeal because of its impact on the coal industry.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) announced Thursday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) will hold a public hearing in Charleston later this month on the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan.

“After years of being ignored by the Obama administration, West Virginians are finally going to be heard,” she said. “Later this month, the EPA will visit West Virginia, where so many have been directly impacted by the harmful and burdensome Clean Power Plan. Our coal miners, their families and entire communities will soon have a chance to share how they have been affected by these far-reaching regulations.”

Capito said regulations in the plan, proposed by the Obama Administration, would prevent construction of new coal plants and require most existing plants to close in the coming years.

In 2015, she introduced a resolution of disapproval under to block the plan. While the Senate and the House of Representative passed the resolution, Obama vetoed it, she said.

In March of this year, Capito joined President Donald Trump for the Energy Independence Executive Order signing at the EPA. That order started the process of reviewing the plan.

“I appreciate the Trump Administration’s commitment to creating and preserving energy jobs,” Capito said.

State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey also applauded the EPA’s decision to hold the hearing.

“I strongly support the EPA’s decision to repeal this devastating and job-killing rule,” Morrisey said. “Our office has been a leader in fighting against the Obama-era Power Plan. I’m glad the EPA selected Charleston as the setting for this crucial hearing, where its leaders will be able to hear from those directly impacted by this unlawful regulation.”

The EPA proposed repealing the Power Plan last month, a move celebrated as a major victory in West Virginia’s fight against the Obama-era regulation that would have devastated coal communities across the state and nation, he said.

Morrisey has long argued the Obama EPA overstepped its authority by transforming the nation’s energy industry, double regulating fossil-fired power plants and forcing states to fundamentally shift their energy portfolios away from coal-fired generation.

The two-day hearing will take place Nov. 28 and 29 in Charleston. The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 5 p.m. each day. Those wishing to speak are encouraged to register in advance.

The EPA announced pre-registration for those wishing to make an oral presentation will begin once notice of the hearing is published in the Federal Register and will close on Nov. 16, Morrisey said.

See the article here.

  • On November 3, 2017