Rep. McKinley Pushes EPA to Stop Ignoring Coal Country

Press Release

Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E., and a group of 38 of his House colleagues have sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy asking that upcoming public "listening sessions' include coal country states.

"It's troubling that the EPA is holding eleven upcoming public listening sessions on regulating power plants in cities such as Boston, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and New York City without stopping in places that rely on these plants for jobs and electricity," said Rep. McKinley. "Main street communities in states like West Virginia, Montana and Wyoming will see the greatest impact because that's where these plants are located."

Already, one-fifth of our nation's coal plants, 204 facilities across 25 states, closed between 2009 and 2012. These closed and existing plants are not located in the cities selected by EPA.

"The EPA must hear from all Americans and not just focus on major metropolitan areas," added McKinley. "The EPA needs to hear from citizens from store clerks, senior citizens and blue collar Americans to the mayors and leaders of communities that will be hit hard by these new regulations."

Source