BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, joined nearly 40 of his Senate colleagues in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asking for the withdrawal of the “Clean Power Plan 2.0,” a proposed rule which will force the closure of coal and gas-fire power plants.
The senators said the proposal would require generation shifting from fossil-fuel power to other types of energy, which is in direct conflict with West Virginia v. EPA. They also argued the rule reflects rushed decision-making that is arbitrary and capricious, subverts public participation, and negatively impacts electric reliability across the country.
“In direct conflict with West Virginia v. EPA, this proposal requires generation shifting from fossil-fuel power to other types of energy. While the Agency falsely claims this does not run afoul of the Supreme Court’s decision, it is undeniable the proposal would require generation shifting that the Court has definitively found Congress has never granted EPA the authority to require under the Clean Air Act,” the senators wrote.
“We have serious concerns about our electric reliability if the proposed rule is finalized resulting in shut downs of the affordable, reliable baseload electricity powering our nation. This proposed rule will drastically increase costs and reduce electricity supplies. These effects will not only be borne by the regulated community, but by every American, manufacturer, and small business that relies on the electricity grid,” the senators wrote. “If the proposed Clean Power Plan 2.0 is finalized along with the rest of the EGU Strategy, our country will face a crisis in electricity supply that will dwarf the regional outages that we have seen in California, Texas, and New England in recent years.”
Joining Senator Cramer are U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Thune (R-SD), John Barrasso (R-WY) Joni Ernst (R-IA), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Boozman (R-AR), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jim Risch (R-ID), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), J.D. Vance (R-OH), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Todd Young (R-IN).
Click here to read the full letter.