CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- Wyoming brought out the big guns for Thursday's hearing in Gillette on whether to charge coal companies more to mine on federal lands.
Gov. Matt Mead and all three members of the state's congressional testified that the federal government itself is crippling the coal industry through environmental regulations.
The Supreme Court has thrown a wrench into the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to regulate mercury pollution from coal plants — one of the most ambitious environmental policies of President Obama's first term.
Washington (CNN) — In a loss for the Obama administration, the Supreme Court ruled that the EPA unreasonably interpreted the Clean Air Act when it decided to set limits on the emissions of toxic pollutants from power plants without first considering the costs of the industry to do so.
The ruling was 5-4, with Justice Atonin Scalia writing for the majority. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the dissent for the four liberal justices.
The EPA’s so-called “Clean Power Plan” to reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants has come under fire from utilities, regional grid operators, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)—basically, any entity that has some responsibility for seeing that consumers are provided with reliable and affordable electricity. Now, even the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), an arm of the U.S.
Coal-fired power plants, refineries and other industries in 36 states will no longer be insulated from Clean Air Act fines from excess emissions when equipment is starting up, shutting down or malfunctioning, under a final rule the Environmental Protection Agency issued May 22.
WILLISTON — Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., will re-introduce legislation on Thursday designed to encourage
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy has been saying repeatedly that the EPA's Clean Power Plan to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants give states flexibility. "We're particularly interested in making sure states and utilities can achieve emissions reductions along a flexible glide path so that they can meet their targets," she said recently. "Flexibility is the key to this proposal."
