Led by Chairman Capito, EPW Republicans Support EPA’s Repeal of Clean Power Plan 2.0, Urge Completion of Final Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, led all Republican members of the EPW Committee in a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin in support of EPA’s repeal of unachievable and illegal power plant regulations, and urged the finalization of the proposed rule.

In the letter, the senators detail how the Clean Power Plan 2.0 would risk American energy reliability through policy-driven power plant retirements, and that the repeal of this rule remains urgent for American energy providers, utilities, and families. Additionally, the senators identify how these regulations exceeded EPA’s authority, ignored the Supreme Court’s ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, and EPA’s proposed repeal of these regulations is reasonable and justified.

“We support the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA or Agency) proposed rule repealing power plant standards promulgated under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). These standards misinterpreted the limited authority that Congress granted under Section 111 of the CAA in an attempt to expand the Agency’s authority under the CAA without clear congressional authorization. Further, the standards were unachievable, uneconomic, unreasonable, and promulgated with the intent to transform our nation’s power sector contrary to the limits of Section 111’s authority,” the senators wrote.

“Our nation currently needs more reliable and affordable electricity to power our economy, maintain our economic competitiveness, and win the Artificial Intelligence race. The current regulations – that your proposal will repeal – put us at risk by exacerbating electric reliability threats and spiking energy costs borne by American families and businesses,” the senators continued.

“The repeal of these standards is the first step on a path to improved energy affordability and securing the reliability of our electric grid. We appreciate your leadership to restore American energy dominance and we request the EPA expeditiously finalize the proposed rule as a central effort to achieve that goal,” the senators concluded.

Joining Chairman Capito in sending the letter were all Republican members of the EPW Committee: U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), and Jon Husted (R-Ohio).

Full text of the letter is available here.

 

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