Scott
Pruitt, the controversial leader of the EPA, came to Wyoming at the
invitation of Sens. John Barrasso and Mike Enzi to see the coal industry
first hand. The state provides about 40 percent of the thermal coal
burned in the U.S. for power and would be uniquely affected by a carbon
dioxide rule like the Clean Power Plan.
The
rule’s goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions in the electricity
sector by about 30 percent compared to 2005 levels would have pressured
utilities that buy Wyoming coal, wiping away customers that the coal
industry around Wright and Gillette depend on.
Those
in favor of the rule are largely concerned about emissions’
contribution to climate change. Those opposed see it as an attack on the
coal industry.
Pruitt echoed
that sentiment in an interview after touring Black Thunder. He said it
was time for the agency to reverse what he described as a political
attack on the fossil fuel industry. The review of the Clean Power Plan, a
signature regulation from the Obama administration, is part of that, he
said.
“Our job is not to
coerce markets,” Pruitt said. “Our job is not to come in and say this
type of fuel is good or this fuel is not good.”
The EPA’s regulations and guidelines should follow behind industry choices, not dictate them, he said.
President Donald Trump, who
appointed Pruitt, made repealing the emissions-cutting plan a central
tenet of his campaign, promising a return of coal jobs.
Pruitt
said Thursday the final decision on the Clean Power Plan is not
certain. The agency would review the new round of comments on repeal and
move forward.
“What we are in
the process of doing is providing regulatory certainty,” he said. “Then
we need to look forward and say what authority do we have?”
However,
Pruitt also said the Clean Power Plan appeared to be outside the bounds
of the agency’s authority under the Clean Air Act.
That
is a position shared by others present at the mine Thursday including
the senators, Gillette mayor Louise Carter King, Campbell County
Commissioner Mark Christensen and the mayor of nearby Wright, Ralph
Kingan.
“We cannot allow this incredible resource to be stranded in the ground,” Barrasso said. “There is just so much energy here.”
Enzi,
once the mayor of Gillette, thanked Pruitt for coming in person. It’s
one thing to tell people about the size and scope of a mine like Black
Thunder, owned by Arch Coal. But a visit to coal country, he said, “is
worth a thousand pictures.”
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