CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today held a virtual public hearing on the proposed repeal of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Standards for Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units. Chris Hamilton, President of the WV Coal Association, offered the following comments in support of repealing the standards:
“For the record, our Association, coal miners and West Virginia citizens alike wholeheartedly support this rule making, marking the end of the Biden Administration’s “War on Coal” and the accelerated push to end coal fired electric generation from America’s energy mix.
The policies of the previous Administration, that were advanced in defiance of the Supreme Court’s findings in EPA v. West Virginia, put the nation on a path to a national energy emergency as recognized in President Trump’s executive orders.
By using its regulatory powers to remove coal fired electricity from the grid, EPA’s carbon rule left millions of Americans vulnerable to being without household electricity and power at times when it is needed the most — during periods of natural severe weather disruptions. Just yesterday, the Department of Energy issued a report finding that most of the country was at elevated risk- some in truly a perilous critical situation- of running short of electric power unless planned coal power plant closures were cancelled.
The carbon rule also jeopardized over 350,000 jobs related to coal mining and power generation across the country. By making the country’s increasing fragile electric grid even more unstable, the carbon rule threatens countless other jobs in American industry that rely on low cost, stable electric power.
Repealing the Biden era Carbon Rule represents a decisive blow to the illegal regulatory overreach that has stifled our industry and jeopardized America’s energy independence for far too long.
As a state, West Virginia has moved in concert with President Trump’s Executive Orders in recognition of the critical role that coal generation plays in securing energy independence.
Governor Morrisey and the West Virginia Legislature enacted comprehensive legislation this year to upgrade and secure our state’s own coal fired electric generation fleet as the least expensive and most reliable source of power in the Mountain State.
Our Association is working with the Administration and the West Virginia Public Service Commission to enact the provisions of HB 2014 to secure our coal generation fleet for the benefit of our residents and the stability of the power grid.
We also want to use our limited time today to thank President Trump and his energy team of Chris Wright (Energy) Lee Zeldin (EPA) and Doug Burgum (Interior) for helping our great industry and hundreds of thousands of American workers to continue doing what they do best- powering this country, fueling American industrial dominance and supporting their families, states and communities.
In conclusion, the Association, our members and their employees support the findings and conclusions contained in the agency’s proposed repeal of the carbon standards rule: the rule is fatally flawed, technically deficient and unachievable, cannot be reconciled with Congressional intent as expressed in the Clean Air Act or Supreme Court decisions and must be scrapped in its entirety.”
