Oct 5, 2014 2 min read

I applaud the Greene County Board of Commissioners for standing up to the Environmental Protection Agency’s overreaching carbon regulations. Measures such as the one recently instituted by Greene County are an important step in preserving the energy stability and economic viability of Pennsylvania and our nation.

If the EPA moves forward with its costly regulatory agenda, coal will be all but eliminated from our nation’s energy portfolio. In Pennsylvania, that means shifting to more expensive and less available fuel sources, leading to the state’s electricity prices soaring through the roof.

As electricity prices increase, the economic impact will be widespread, harming both consumers and businesses. Yet, the great costs of EPA’s regulations will be largely futile, since the plan’s effect on global greenhouse gas emissions will be negligible.

The coal-based power industry led development in ways to use our most reliable, affordable and abundant resource more cleanly and efficiently than ever before, investing nearly $120 billion so far to reduce emissions by 90 percent and committing an additional $27 billion between now and 2016.

The EPA’s proposal prohibits states like Pennsylvania from efficiently using all of its available resources and, in the process, will drive up energy costs for every home and business in the state. We must all work together to stop the EPA’s power play and fight these regulations that stand to cost our nation dearly and I’m glad the Greene County Board of Commissioners is taking a leading role.

Maureen A. Healey

Washington, D.C.

Healey is the regional vice president of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.