The Supreme Court halted federal efforts to regulate carbon emissions Tuesday.
The next day, the Indiana Coal Council issued a statement applauding the Supreme Court’s decision to protect “affordable and reliable energy.”
The stay of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan will stop limitations from going into effect while legal questioning of the plan plays out, Bruce Stevens, president of the Indiana Coal Council, said in an email.
President Barack Obama’s administration finished the Clean Power Plan in August 2015, after more than a year of work refining its regulations.
Although the CPP’s attempts to regulate greenhouse gases are the most zealous to date, many states questioned the efficacy and authority of the plan.
During the stay, the EPA will not be able to enforce any of the CPP’s regulations.
“This avoids a situation such as occurred in the MATS rule, in which the compliance times were so short that utilities had to spend huge sums of money to comply, and eventually the Supreme Court called the rule into question,” Stevens said. “Without a stay, utilities would have had to do similar(ly), which would have significantly increased consumer rates even though the possibility exists the regulation will be overturned.”
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Stevens referenced caused concern over higher costs to businesses, which would have been responsible for decreasing the amount of toxins from plant production.
Supporters agree forcing power plants to limit emissions is necessary to slow climate change. Opponents contend the proposed regulations were neither fair nor legal.
The Indiana Energy Association, made up of electric power and natural gas companies, argued that forcing industries to reduce carbon emissions would cause a direct rise in electricity prices.
The EPA argued that when public health is at risk, inconveniences to producers are irrelevant.
“A consideration of cost does not alter the EPA’s previous determination that it is appropriate to regulate air toxics, including mercury, from power plants,” the EPA’s fact sheet from November 2015 reads.
In August 2015, the EPA released state-specific goal sheets, detailing the proposed carbon emissions by 2030.
The mandatory carbon reductions would begin in 2022, according to the EPA’s website, though most states will set their own goals before then to ensure a smoother transition.
“Indiana’s 2030 goal is 1,242 pounds per megawatt-hour,” according to the fact sheet. “That’s on the high end of this range, meaning Indiana has one of the least stringent state goals, compared to other state goals in the final Clean Power Plan.”
The EPA’s plan was a “clear example of executive overreach,” Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind said in a press release.
Indiana Republican Party Executive Director David Buskill said in a press release that the Supreme Court ruling would protect the jobs of coal workers in Indiana.
Buskill called the decision a “moment of sanity in Washington”.
He also called for Democratic governor candidate John Gregg to support Hoosiers in the coal industry.
“Now he has another chance to show he stands with Hoosiers instead of President Obama,” Buskill’s press release read. “John, it’s time to show some courage for once.”
Gov. Mike Pence had previously said Indiana would not comply with the Clean Power Plan unless it was significantly revised.
“Our nation needs an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy that relies on a variety of different energy sources,” Pence wrote in a letter to Obama on June 24, 2015. “Energy policy should promote the safe, environmentally responsible stewardship of our natural resources with the goal of reliable, affordable energy. Your approach to energy policy places environmental concerns above all others.”
Pence argued that coal and manufacturing are an essential part of Indiana’s economy.
“I reject the Clean Power Plan and inform you that absent demonstrable and significant improvement in the final rule, Indiana will not comply,” the letter finished.
