Resolution in Response to EPA’s Plan to Regulate Greenhouse Gases under the Clean Air Act

WHEREAS, the President has directed EPA to issue regulations setting greenhouse gas emission New Source Performance Standards for new power plants and for modified, reconstructed, and existing power plants under the Clean Air Act; and

WHEREAS, EPA has proposed regulations for greenhouse gases from new fossil fueled power plants and has announced its intention to issue proposed regulations for existing fossil fueled power plants by June 1, 2014; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Supreme Court has recently decided to review whether the EPA has the authority to issue new source permits for greenhouse gases from stationary sources under the Clean Air Act; and

WHEREAS, there is no commercially viable technology to capture and store CO₂ from power plants, the state of   is very concerned about the potential economic impact of greenhouse gas regulation on electricity prices and the harm EPA regulations may have on the economic recovery; and

WHEREAS, U.S. utilities have spent billions of dollars to upgrade their coal-fueled power plants to comply with current environmental regulations already imposed by the EPA; and

WHEREAS, according to EPA data, coal usage in the United States has nearly tripled since 1970, while emissions of criteria pollutants regulated under the CAA have decreased over 85%; and

WHEREAS, the state of   favors an “all-of- the-above” energy strategy and not an “all-but-one” approach that restricts the future use of coal to generate affordable electricity.

WHEREAS, EPA’s regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from electric generating units representing policymaking which is prerogative of the legislative branch and the States and our federalist system of government, as implicated in the Clean Air Act, requires that EPA recognize those rights and prerogatives; and

WHEREAS, climate change is a global issue, not a local or regional pollution issue as the Clean Air Act was designed to address; and

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that EPA should not pursue regulation of greenhouse gases; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the state of    opposes any regulation where States are not allowed to play their proper roles in making the significant policy judgments that are required in adopting any such regulation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the state of   opposes regulations that will prevent electric utilities from providing affordable, reliable and safe electric power.

Approved by the ALEC Board of Directors January 9, 2014.