Capito tells EPA proposed rule ‘picks winners and losers’
By Whitney Burdette
Charleston Daily Mail
Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The Environmental Protection Agency’s refusal to bring a listening tour on its newly proposed coal-fired power plant rule sends “a message to this part of the country that our views and that our experiences do not matter,” Rep. Shelley Moore Capito told the agency during a Tuesday hearing.

Capito, R-W.Va., has been openly critical of the agency’s reluctance to bring the tour to West Virginia, Ohio or Kentucky — or any of the other states she said rely heavily on coal and would be greatly affected by the rule.

“To have the federal government refuse to even listen to a segment of the American people is frustrating, demoralizing and frankly insulting,” she said.

The rule, still in the public comment period, aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants by 2030, but opponents, including most of West Virginia’s congressional delegation, argue the rule would hurt economies dependent on coal. Capito told the EPA it seems the federal government has framed the rule so that it is “shifting the country away from coal.”

“If you had come to West Virginia, you would have heard from coal mining companies and coal miners who depend on this work to feed their families,” Capito testified. “Like Roger Horton, a retired coal miner and UMWA member. When he testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in October, he said the EPA’s policies are ‘condemning (mining families) to lives of poverty and despair.’”

Not only is job loss something for the agency to consider, Capito said, but so is the rising cost of electricity. Under the new rule, the country would see a dramatic increase in utility prices, according to reports.

“This rule, which would cause even more coal capacity to be taken offline, would increase energy costs for consumers across the country,” Capito said. “We saw this with the European Union’s carbon regulations, which increased residential electricity prices by 55 percent between 2005 and 2013.

“The proposed rule is bad for the American economy, and it will be catastrophic for working families in West Virginia,” she added. “U.S. households pay half as much for electricity than households in the European Union and a third as much as households in Germany.”

None of West Virginia’s coal-fired power plants have the technology to produce cleaner coal. That could spell trouble for the plants, as the closure of some would be mandatory.

“Our economy benefits from having a diverse energy mix and an all-of-the-above energy strategy,” Capito said. “I want my state to produce both coal and natural gas in order to maximize job opportunities for West Virginians.”

The public comment period ends in October. After that, the EPA can choose to make any changes to the rule before submitting it to Congress for its approval. But Capito said she’ll continue fighting against the rule.

“I’m here today so that once, if only for five minutes, you, the EPA, are forced to confront the consequences of the agency’s decisions on the people I represent,” Capito said. “This proposed rule threatens West Virginia’s economic survival. I will continue to lead efforts in Congress to stop this disastrous rule, and I promise you that my state and its people will also fight this proposed rule every step of the way.”