President Obama has just won two huge victories in the Supreme Court. But he should be wary of battles on other fronts. Opponents are grumbling about another Obama brainchild: climate change regulations.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence sent a letter to Obama Wednesday stating that his state will not comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. The plan would require states to develop a plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants. He argued that the proposal would increase costs of electricity, make the state’s electric service less reliable and slow economic growth.
For Indiana, the EPA plan would require a 20 percent decrease in emissions by 2030.
“Energy policy should promote the safe, environmentally responsible stewardship of our natural resources with the goal of reliable, affordable energy,” Pence wrote. “Your approach to energy policy places environmental concerns above all others.”
Coal companies in the state commended Pence’s statement. An estimated 26,000 people work in Indiana’s coal industry. But EPA spokeswoman Melissa Harrison released a statement challenging Pence’s points. She argued that the EPA plan would provide affordable, reliable electricity and increase jobs. The EPA claims that the plan would significantly decrease carbon emissions.
“In the EPA’s nearly 45-year history, emissions from power plant pollution have decreased dramatically, improving public health protection for all Americans, while the economy has grown. EPA’s plan will not change that,” she said in the statement.
House Republicans advanced a bill Wednesday that would let states decide whether they will follow the EPA rule. The bill would also delay the rule until all legal challenges are settled, which could take years. The White House threatened to veto the bill.
Pence is not the only governor who opposes the proposal. In April, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin issued an executive order to prevent her state from making a carbon emission reduction plan. The Associated Press reported that Indiana and 13 other states have sued the EPA over the rule. Earlier this month, an appeals court rejected the case, saying that the lawsuit was premature. The final version of the EPA rule is set to come out in August.
Emily Leayman is an intern at the Washington Examiner
