Bowling Green Daily News - Whitfield Warns about EPA Coal Regulations

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By Katie Brandenburg

U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Hopkinsville, warned Friday that Environmental Protection Agency regulations on coal-fired power plants will create higher electricity rates for customers.

Speaking to the Scottsville Rotary Club, Whitfield focused on how he thinks coal plant regulations will negatively impact Kentucky.

He will face Democrat Charles Kendall Hatchett of Benton in the Nov. 4 election.

Whitfield said the Obama administration's regulations make it "impossible" to build a new coal plant in Kentucky.

"The president believes that climate change is the No. 1 issue facing mankind," he said. "And while we acknowledge that the climate is changing as it always has, we think there are other issues that are more demanding like job creation, clean water, health availability, access to health, Ebola, things like that."

The country needs more flexibility on energy options in case natural gas prices rise, Whitfield said.

He said the climate change argument is focused on carbon dioxide, which makes up only 4/10 of 1 percent of the atmosphere. Of that amount, only about 4/10 is manmade, he said.

"It's going to be more and more of a volatile issue because it will have a direct impact on electricity rates and the ability to compete in the global marketplace," Whitfield said.

After the meeting, Whitfield said the House has passed multiple bills to reverse EPA regulations of coal, but none of those bills has come up for a vote in the Senate.

"So we're stymied because of (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid supporting the extreme views of Barack Obama," he said.

Whitfield said that it's understood that human activity contributes to climate change, but there are more serious issues on which to focus.

Whitfield is scheduled to speak today at the Simpson County Republican Party Picnic, which begins at 5:30 p.m. at Jim Roberts Community Park.

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