A significant effort is underway to fundamentally change the rules governing power plants in the United States and thanks to the Obama administration’s inclination to usurp the Constitution, the effort was done without any congressional involvement.
In fact, bipartisan majorities in both the House and Senate oppose the plan.
In complete to contrast to the will of our elected officials on the Hill, The Environmental Protection Agency just finalized and released a vast plan that will require states to switch power generation from reliable fossil fuel sources to unproven and expensive alternative sources.
Due to the fact that coal-fired electric power plants generate about 85% of Indiana’s net electricity, one of the most profoundly impacted by the new rule will be our Hoosier state.
The state, as a whole, must reduce the amount of carbon dioxide generated per unit of electricity 38.5 percent from 2012 levels by 2030. Imagine the implications and costs that Indiana’s industrial sector, including manufacturers of aluminum, chemicals, glass, metal casting, and steel will have to endeavor if the EPA is not stopped. Forcing businesses to comply with this outlandish regulation will no doubt send our economy to a screeching halt.
At a time when the impact of the great recession is finally starting to wane, Hoosiers are faced with yet another challenge inflicted by burdensome regulations.
The President can’t radically rewrite an old law to suit his needs. The Clean Air Act was first passed by Congress more than 50 years ago. Congress has a proven record of updating the act to accommodate the times. In 1970 it was significantly updated, and amendments followed in both 1977 and 1990.
Most recently, Congress seriously considered a proposal similar to this power plant rule in 2009. However, even with Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi in charge, it barely passed the House of Representatives. The rule was so unpopular that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid never even put it up for a vote. So what does Obama do? Via executive order, he unilaterally imposes what is perhaps the greatest change to the size and scope of the law.
Circumventing Congress, the measure was put into effect via executive order and EPA rules changes.
There is no practical way that a coal-fired power plant can meet the EPA’s unrealistic new standards. Nationally, these plants represent nearly 40 percent of generation in the U.S. and a forced switch will cost $8.4 billion annually. Those costs will get passed on to both consumers and businesses.
The National Black Chamber of Commerce estimates that average energy costs for residential customers could rise by over $1,200 by 2030. For energy intensive businesses, the costs could go even higher. We don’t fully understand that impact of the rule because the EPA didn’t even properly study how it would affect small employers. They considered only the direct effects on small power generation facilities, not the indirect costs that would be paid by millions of small business owners, especially in Indiana. The NFIB filed comments with the EPA pointing out this oversight and not surprisingly, those comments were completely ignored.
The President’s This plan almost completely ignores the progress America has made to move toward cleaner fuels.
The EPA admits that the electricity market “is already changing.” In the last decade, America reduced “total carbon pollution more than any other nation on Earth.” Even coal has gotten cleaner as monthly CO2 emissions from coal-fired plants recently reached a 27-year low.
Not only does this most recent abuse of our constitution break the law, but it endangers our small business-based economy. For these reasons, the National Federation of Independent Business is suing the EPA to stop this rule before it destroys jobs and livelihoods and calling on Governor Pence to continue to denounce the regulation.
Barbara Quandt Underwood
NFIB Indiana State Director
(This op-ed recently appeared in the Chicago Tribune)
