National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn had the following reaction to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Final Clean Power Plan unveiled today:
“EPA’s final Clean Power Plan reflects political expediency, not reality for supplying the nation with low cost reliable power. Left in place are targets for replacing affordable energy with costly energy. These will burden Americans with increasingly high-costs for an essential service and a less reliable electric grid for delivering it.
“Postponing the initial deadline merely forces ratepayers into steeper cost increases in later years than originally proposed. American households and businesses will be forced to accept higher electricity rates in exchange for what EPA admits are negligible environmental gains. Low income families will be hit hardest now as they were before.
“This is change without a difference. It is not a course correction; EPA is still insisting that families accept a subprime energy mortgage but now with a balloon payment.
“The Nation’s governors now have a clear choice to make about their course: accept this flawed plan and put their citizens at risk, or reject it and challenge EPA’s authority and competence to manage their state’s energy economy from Washington.
“NMA filed a request today with EPA to stay the rule while the courts have the opportunity to determine the lawfulness of the agency’s attempt to commandeer the nation’s electric grid. If EPA denies our request we will ask the courts to do so.”