Lawmakers urge air regulation change
Two area lawmakers have drafted a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to reconsider excessive clean air regulations they say jeopardize the survival of the coal industry and coal-fired electric generation.
The letter, prepared jointly by state Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Waynesburg, and state Sen. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, is in response to FirstEnergy Corp.’s announcement of the proposed closings of the Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station in Greene County and Mitchell Power Station in Washington County.
The company blamed the closings on the costs of complying with new clean air regulations as well as market prices for electricity.
“The economic toll on this region in terms of loss of jobs and tax revenues, and the significant effect upon the coal industry, will be profound and lasting,” the letter states.
“Also of paramount concern is the detrimental impact that the decrease in generation will have on the safety, reliability and security of the power grid as well as the cost of electricity for our constituents.”
Diversity in fuel sources is important in maintaining reliability and affordable energy and research and investment in new clean-coal technologies should be supported and encouraged, it said.
The letter urged the president to reconsider standards on greenhouse gas emissions and to develop new standards “to differentiate based on fuel type and to establish supercritical coal generation technology as the performance standard for new coal-based electricity.”