Environmental Protection Agency officials have stalled for two years on providing Congress and the American people with the scientific evidence — peer-reviewed studies, analytical papers and databases — that would justify regulations targeting the coal industry. The regulations have forced more than 100 coal plants to shut down, and have made it all but impossible to construct new coal-fired power plants despite rising energy demand. Since coal-fired plants generate nearly half of all the electricity used in the U.S., the EPA regulations add significantly to other upward pressures on electricity rates across the country.
On Aug. 1, House Committee on Science, Space and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith of Texas got tired of waiting and roused the panel to issue its first subpoena in 21 years, seeking scientific materials that then-assistant EPA administrator Gina McCarthy had promised to provide the committee in September 2011. “The EPA’s lack of cooperation contributes to the suspicion that the data sets do not support the agency’s actions,” Smith said.
