Obama EPA Demands Washington State Cut Emissions by 72 Percent

Washington State got a shock this week when President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent out its edict that the state cuts its carbon emissions by a whopping 72 percent by 2030, a cut that business advocates say will devastate the state’s economy.

This week the EPA sent out its revised standards customized by state. With the resulting regulations Washington state found itself with stronger demands than any other state.

Already, the Evergreen State has decreed that its last coal-fired power plant in Centralia will be fully shut down by 2025. Coal now generates only 3.2 percent of the state’s electric power.

Kris Johnson, president of the Association of Washington Business, says the EPA’s newest demands will devastate Washington’s industries, cost the state jobs, harm its economy, and kill the state’s competitive advantage.

But the state’s Democrat Governor, Jay Inslee, is applauding the Obama administration for its harsh treatment saying that Obama is showing “leadership” with his latest EPA rules.

The new rules are set to reduce carbon emissions to below that of 2005 levels by the year 2030. Obama did not consult with Congress while drawing up the new rules.

Fulfilling his 2008 pledge, Obama’s global warming policies have already sent America’s energy costs skyrocketing. And these new rules will cause prices to soar yet again.

Last year, Dr. Julio Friedmann, the deputy assistant secretary for clean coal at the Department of Energy, said that Obama’s rules will cause electricity costs to rise an additional 70 to 80 percent.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com