October 19, 2018: New EPA Rule on Energy Production

Posted on October 19, 2018 at 12:00 AM

The EPA under Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler has the same agenda as it did under Scott Pruitt: weaken environmental regulations to benefit big corporations. The Obama Clean Power Plan (CPP), if implemented, would have greatly cut greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants from the generation of electrical energy. EPA now wants to make coal great again with the misnamed Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule. It would allow states to set their own regulations on power plant emissions, with basically no national standards or accountability. ACE would allow considerably more carbon dioxide emissions than envisaged by the CPP, and it would also lift requirements for controls on the poisons that accompany coal-fired electric generation (e.g., sulfur dioxide, soot, methane, nitrogen oxide.) As reported by the Washington Post, it would also incentivize owners of failing coal plants to keep them running longer.[1]

If this proposal is enacted, it will save some energy companies money by lifting regulatory requirements, but it will be terribly costly in many other ways. Weakening steps to reduce greenhouse gas production is a dangerous backward step in the face of the current and future impacts of climate change. Further, allowing more emissions of particulants and toxic gases into our air will have immediate and long-term effects on public health in the form of more asthma, various cancers, and heart disease.

The deadline to submit public comments on this poisonous plan is October 31st. You are urged to submit your comments in opposition to the dangerous ACE rule now. You can submit a comment either directly to the EPA, referencing Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0355, or through the Union of Concerned Scientists at ucsaction@ucsusa.org.

Oppose the Administration’s attempts to sacrifice our health and the future of our planet to short-term company profits!

–Jean Stewart

Chair, Earth and Environment TF