Monday, EPA Head Scott Pruitt announced plans to scrap President Obama’s contentious Clean Power Plan.
“Tomorrow, I’ll be a signing a proposed rule to withdraw the so-called Clean Power Plan of the past administration,” said Pruitt at a mining event.
From its conception, the Clean Power Plan (which became the global warming regulatory bit of the Clean Air Act) has been controversial due to its aggressiveness in (supposedly) reducing greenhouse gases.
Global Warming Alarmists loved the CPP, while the energy industry largely hated it.
The CPP was originally slated to take effect in 2022 with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. But doing so comes at great cost to conventional energy purveyors.
Heritage discussed:
Under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, the EPA also intends to regulate CO2 emissions from existing power plants. Known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the agency’s proposed regulations set state-specific emissions limits based on the greenhouse-gas-emissions rate of each state’s electricity mix. The EPA estimates that its regulations will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions approximately 25 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and 30 percent by 2030.[3] Each state has interim targets it must meet beginning in 2020, and the EPA proposed that states use a combination of four “building blocks” to achieve the emissions reductions: (1) improving the efficiency (heat rate) of existing coal-fired power plants; (2) switching from coal-fired power by increasing the use and capacity factor, or efficiency, of natural-gas combined-cycle power plants; (3) using less carbon-intensive generating power, such as renewable energy or nuclear power; and (4) increasing demand-side energy-efficiency measures.States will have one year to develop and submit their own compliance plan or develop regional plans with other states, though the EPA will likely grant extension waivers. After that, the EPA will take approximately one year to approve or reject the plan. The EPA is currently developing a federal “model” for states to consider and will impose a federal plan for states that do not comply.No matter how states concoct their plans, the economic damages will be felt through higher energy costs, fewer job opportunities, and fewer choices through implementation of efficiency mandates that remove decision making from producers and consumers. The EPA’s idea of flexibility will not soften the economic blow; it merely means that families, individuals, and businesses will incur higher costs through different mechanisms.
Like most progressive energy plans, job stagnation, slowed industry growth, and significantly higher energy costs were predicted results of the CPP. And, like most Obama-era regulatory provisions, the CPP faced an uphill legal battle after the Supreme Court granted an unusual stay in 2016, halting its implementation.
According to the Daily Caller, the EPA is as of yet uncertain whether they’ll replace the CPP or just toss it out completely:
Draft EPA plans to repeal and possibly replace the CPP have already leaked to the media. EPA says repealing the rule will save Americans $33 billion in compliance costs.The Obama administration claimed the CPP would only cost $8.4 billion and deliver public health and climate benefits ranging from $14 to $34 billion by 2030.EPA won’t propose a replacement to the CPP in its proposal, according to draft plans. The agency may issue a separate rule, asking for comments on what could replace the CPP.“The EPA has not determined whether it will promulgate a rule under section 111(d) to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing EGUs, and, if it will do so, when it will do so and what form that rule will take,” reads the draft.
Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY