Dear Senator Paul,

On behalf of more than 1.8 million Americans for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I strongly support S.J.Res. 27, using Congressional Review Act (CRA) authority to express congressional disapproval of EPA’s new Cross State Air Pollution Rule. Your bill not only stops a bad regulation that will cause energy prices to rise; it also holds federal bureaucrats accountable by putting a check on overregulation.

The EPA’s Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) requires 28 states and the District of Columbia to reduce power plant emissions that can cross state lines and contribute to smog and soot pollution for their neighbors. States have as little as six months to comply, even though it takes up to three years to order and install the abatement technology.

Cost estimates show very real impacts on the economy. The EPA’s own work shows CSAPR will increase national electricity prices, by as much as 3 percent in the Midwest. Compliance costs will be about a billion dollars per year for the industry. Another study predicted it will force 18 coal-fired power plants to close, crimping electricity-generation capacity that can power over a million homes.

Federal policymakers need to look at the CSAPR rule in context – it’s another item on a lengthy list of new EPA requirements that will dramatically drive up the cost of generating electricity. Two rules now require power plants to purchase expensive equipment to reduce emissions: the first covers air pollutants like mercury and carbon monoxide, and the other covering greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane, thought to contribute to climate change. The latter also comes with onerous EPA permitting and emissions reporting requirements.

A third rule proposes to define coal ash (a byproduct of burning coal in power plants) as a hazardous waste and require costly new disposal techniques. A fourth – new air quality standards for particulate matter (“dust”) – is expected to be released soon and will hit utilities as well. And the Obama administration only recently cancelled plans for a fifth rule – establishing strict emissions standards to reduce the “carbon footprint” of new or upgraded power facilities. CSAPR only adds an additional layer of unnecessary regulation on top of all of these.

American families and businesses can ill afford higher electricity prices that this outright assault on utilities will cause. The EPA needs to slow down and give deeper consideration to the impacts that their “soak the utilities” approach will have on the economy, especially during a recession.

Americans for Prosperity is proud to support S.J.Res. 27 and we encourage future uses of the CRA to press “pause” on overly-stringent environmental standards. If new standards are needed, then Congress should pass new laws rather than allowing federal agencies to push ahead on their own. I urge your colleagues to support passage of this important measure, and I look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,

James Valvo
Director of Government Affairs
Americans for Prosperity

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