Aug 3, 2015 5 min read

Groups representing both the energy and environmental sectors provided reaction to Monday’s release of the Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule of the Clean Power Plan.

The rule cracks down on CO2 emissions from power generating plants under Section 111d of the Clean Air Act, and is the final, tougher version of proposed regulations the EPA announced in 2012 and 2014.

The Obama administration estimated the emissions limits will cost $8.4 billion annually by 2030. The actual price won’t be known until states decide how they’ll reach their targets.

According to the EPA, power plants account for about one-third of all U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, making them the largest single source of air pollution.

The final version imposes stricter CO2 limits on states than was previously stated: a 32 percent cut by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. Obama’s proposed version last year called for a 30 percent cut.

On a day in which coal producer Alpha Natural Resources filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, some of the response to the final rule was predictable, but at least one company said it would sue the Obama administration for what it called a “flagrantly unlawful” plan.

Murray Energy Corp., the country’s largest underground coal-mining company, said Monday it will proceed with five lawsuits challenging the Clean Power Plan.

“This illegal rule will adversely restructure the electric power system in America and will force every state to radically change their energy policies,” Murray said in a statement.

“It will dramatically increase the cost of electricity for all Americans, with no environmental benefit whatsoever.

“Our citizens on fixed incomes will not be able to pay their electric bills, and our manufacturers of products for the global marketplace will not be able to compete,” said Murray.

John Pippy, CEO of the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, which represents the state’s coal industry and touts the economic and social benefit to the employees, businesses, communities and consumers who depend on affordable and reliable energy from coal, gave a more measured response:

“Both the Wolf Administration and the Pennsylvania Legislature have repeatedly stated that coal use will remain a critical component of any blueprint for a state strategy to comply with the federal carbon emissions rule,” Pippy said.

“Utilities and grid operators nationwide have testified on the importance of maintaining coal’s place in the energy mix as a baseload supplier to safeguard against rate spikes and blackouts.

“I believe (DEP) Secretary (John) Quigley understands this is especially key for a state like Pennsylvania as one of the top generators and exporters of electricity in the nation. We’re looking forward to working with our policymakers to ensure coal continues to supply the commonwealth and surrounding states with low-cost electricity while keeping Pennsylvanians employed and the lights on for manufacturers, businesses and residents.”

“EPA’s final Clean Power Plan reflects political expediency, not reality for supplying the nation with low cost reliable power,” the NMA said. “Left in place are targets for replacing affordable energy with costly energy. These will burden Americans with increasingly high costs for an essential service and a less reliable electric grid for delivering it.

“Postponing the initial deadline merely forces ratepayers into steeper cost increases in later years than originally proposed. American households and businesses will be forced to accept higher electricity rates in exchange for what EPA admits are negligible environmental gains. Low-income families will be hit hardest now as they were before.”

The NMA said it filed a request Monday with EPA to stay the rule “while the courts have the opportunity to determine the lawfulness of the agency’s attempt to commandeer the nation’s electric grid. If EPA denies our request we will ask the courts to do so.”

Cecil Roberts, international president of the United Mine Workers of America, said the union was continuing to review the final rule Monday, but vowed to fight for miners and retirees and their communities that would be affected by the rule.

“The draft rule the EPA proposed last year put a terrible burden on coal miners and their communities, especially those in Appalachia,” Roberts said. “From all accounts that have been published so far, the final rule is even worse.

“It’s hard to draw any other conclusion than this: The people who will suffer the most from this rule are working and retired coal miners and their families, primarily in Appalachia. These hard-working miners have given their health, their limbs and far too often their lives to create the foundation of the America we live in today. We cannot solve global climate change on their backs. They deserve much better than the fate this rule has in store in them.

“We will have more to say about this in coming days, but I can assure our members today that we will take every possible step to fight for their jobs, their pensions, their health care and their future.”

According to the EPA, the rule will provide as much as $45 billion in climate and public health benefits, while preventing as many as 6,600 premature deaths and as many as 90,000 asthma attacks in children.

In a telephone news conference sponsored by PennFuture that included a number of environmental groups within the state, some representatives acknowledged there will be legal challenges to the rule, but said they believed it would withstand them.

The state has good reason to develop a plan that reduces pollution, said PennFuture President Larry Schweiger, who noted the Keystone State is the third-largest carbon-emitter in the United States.

“Pennsylvania is ready for” a cleaner air strategy, added Joe Minott, executive director of the Clean Air Council, who noted the state already lowered carbon emissions by 15 percent in the past decade.

While extolling the health benefits of cleaner air, the participants said the state will need to craft a plan that also will ensure good-paying jobs and affordable energy from a greater reliance on renewables.