Lummis Demands EPA Listen to Wyoming

Press Release

Today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finishing their urban-area-only listening sessions on the EPA's proposed carbon emissions rule. The hearings were held this week in Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, GA; Denver, CO; and Pittsburgh, PA. U.S. Representative Cynthia Lummis joined colleagues in the House in sending a letter to Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the EPA, demanding additional hearings in states where coal production takes place, including Wyoming, West Virginia, Kentucky, Texas, and Arizona.

"These cities are large urban areas, several of which are hundreds of miles from the communities that will be most impacted by this flawed proposal," the letter says. "It is deplorable that the EPA has not scheduled public hearings in communities that will lose thousands of jobs if these overreaching regulations are adopted."

The rule sets carbon emissions targets that will close coal-fired power plants, increase the cost of electricity, and force drastic changes to the electrical grid that could threaten power reliability. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has estimated that the EPA's approach could cause 224,000 job losses annually and lower disposable income in the U.S. by $586 billion through 2030 -- all for miniscule carbon emissions reductions that will be more than offset by increasing coal usage in other countries. The Partnership for a Better Energy Future, a coalition of business organizations representing over 80 percent of the U.S. economy, stated that in addition to significant legal questions, the proposed mandate is "fundamentally incompatible with numerous practical and technical aspects of America's electricity system."

On Wednesday, July 23, McCarthy told the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in reference to the carbon rule: "And the great thing about this proposal is it really is an investment opportunity. This is not about pollution control. It's about increased efficiency at our plants…It's about investments in renewables and clean energy."

"The EPA could not be more out of touch with the needs of every day Americans," said Rep. Lummis. "Wyoming will take the economic brunt of this ill-conceived rule for no benefit. We could all hop on one foot and have about the same effect on climate change. Billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost if this rule is enacted and all so the President can feel a moral superiority on the international scene. Here at home, Americans will suffer, our economy will suffer, and our energy security will suffer. The EPA needs to hold a hearing in Wyoming, look our citizens straight in the eye, and hear first-hand the damage their proposal will inflict on hard-working Americans."

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