Palmer Cautions States Against Implementing Clean Power Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 22, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Congressman Gary Palmer (R-AL), a member of the Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Environment and the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on the Interior, both of which have jurisdiction over the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), sent a letter along with Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith concerning the EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) to the Governors and Attorneys General of all 50 states. The letter urges the states to delay submitting a State Implementation Plan (SIP) until all of the numerous legal challenges to the rule are exhausted.  Submitting a SIP is optional under the law.

“The Clean Power Plan will do enormous harm to America’s economy, necessitating the loss of millions of jobs and substantially increasing household energy costs that disproportionately hurt low-income and fixed income families,” Palmer said.  “The hope that the CPP will ‘trigger global action’ on climate change is an insufficient reason to damage the economic opportunities and future aspirations of millions of Americans.  The Supreme Court recently halted the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), since it did not adequately consider the costs of the rule along with the benefits.  Additionally, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has also enjoined the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule.  States are not required to help implement this onerous rule and they should not do so, at least until the rule’s legal future is decided, since they risk incurring billions in costs for a rule that may not survive legal scrutiny.”

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy recently testified before the Science, Space and Technology Committee and said the value of the Clean Power Plan was not measured by potential temperature drops, but “(M)easured in showing strong domestic action which can actually trigger global action.”  According to data provided by the Energy Information Administration, the Clean Power Plan will lower U.S. GDP by nearly one trillion dollars in the next 25 years.  Former Obama Administration Assistant Secretary Charles McConnell estimates that the rule will result in less than .001% drop in global warming by 2050.

The text of the letter is below:

Dear ___________,

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently released the final version of its Clean Power Plan, intended to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants.

The negative economic consequences of the Clean Power Plan are well documented. The plan increases energy prices, decreases employment, and has almost no measurable impact on climate change. The plan would be particularly harmful to lower income American families, who spend a disproportionate amount of their earnings on energy.

The EPA would like states to believe that they have only two options: submit a State Implementation Plan (SIP) or become subject to a more stringent Federal Implementation Plan. However, there is strong reason to believe that the courts will ultimately rule that the Clean Power Plan oversteps the EPA’s legal authority.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling on the Administration’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) should serve as a lesson to states considering submitting a plan. The Supreme Court rebuked the Administration for failing to adequately consider the costs of this rule. However, the decision came too late for those utilities that have already implemented costly pollution control measures or decided to shut down power plants altogether.

The Clean Air Act gives states the right to submit a SIP at any point in the process. We urge you not to move forward until after legitimate legal challenges to the Clean Power Plan have been resolved.

Sincerely,

Gary Palmer                                                                       Lamar Smith

Member of Congress                                                         Member of Congress

For any additional questions, contact:

Cliff Smith, (202) 225-4921, ">

U.S. Representative Gary Palmer (R-AL) serves on three Congressional committees: Oversight and Government Reform, Budget, and Science, Space and Technology.  Visit Palmer online at his website or viaFacebook, Twitter, or Instagram.