AEA Applauds WV Delegation & Rep. Cramer for Standing Up to EPA

Recently, several members of Congress have taken the initiative to fight back against the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan. The rule, to be finalized sometime this summer, will shutter roughly 90 GW of coal-fired electricity, according to the Energy Information Administration. This will threaten the reliability of the grid and cause electricity prices to skyrocket.

In March, Sen. McConnell urged states to protect their sovereignty over state energy policy by refusing to submit a State Plan to the EPA. Rep. Kevin Cramer has followed this lead and urged legislators in his home state of North Dakota, as well as Governor Dalrymple, to resist sending a State Plan to the EPA.

In his letter to Governor Dalrymple, Rep. Cramer calls the EPA’s bluff on the CPP:

It is my belief the president’s administration is aware of this and hoping enough States will voluntarily cede their rights by proposing CO2 reduction plans beyond the fence in order to meet their given goals. If you are to submit a plan to the EPA, I urge you to only consider commercially feasible improvements within the fence of an emitting source. I am aware this will not likely reach EPA’s goal, but it’s an unreasonable goal given the timeline of infrastructure construction, the availability of commercially feasible and reliable low-carbon power, and again, ceding States’ rights to the Federal government. I believe in the ingenuity of Americans and North Dakotans to achieve a lower-carbon economy if they so choose, but this is not the plan to do it for many reasons beyond those I have touched on here.

Similarly, the West Virginia Delegation sent a letter to Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, urging him to also resist the EPA’s power grab:

The EPA is trying to compel states to do more themselves than what the agency would be authorized to do on its own. Therefore, we urge you to join your fellow Governors of Texas and Oklahoma by refusing to submit a SIP to the EPA and subjecting West Virginians to this overreaching plan. By declining to submit a plan you will give the courts the necessary time to rule on whether the EPA’s proposed rule is legal while also giving Congress a chance to address its concerns with the plan.

Despite the loud rhetoric from proponents of the rule, compliance in the form of a state plan could have severe ramifications as written about here and here. State elected officials would be wise to heed this advice and take action ensuring they are part of any decision that subjects their constituents to the EPA’s costly federal energy takeover.

The American Energy Alliance applauds Rep. Cramer and Reps. McKinley, Mooney, and Jenkins and we urge all Members of Congress to take similar action to support their states in the fight against the EPA’s unworkable rule.