EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Proposes to Save $33 Billion with Repeal of Obama-Era Energy Plan

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Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed to repeal the agency’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) on Tuesday. An EPA analysis reveals that repealing Obama’s landmark regulation would save $33 billion in compliance costs.

On Tuesday, EPA chief Scott Pruitt released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that proposes to repeal the CPP. The EPA reviewed the Clean Power Plan and determined that the EPA exceeded its statutory authority to regulate carbon emissions.

Breitbart News obtained the EPA’s Clean Power Plan repeal document and reported on the EPA’s proposed rulemaking. The EPA document declared that they are “proposing to repeal the CPP in its entirety.”

On Monday, Administrator Pruitt said that the EPA should not abuse its regulatory authority “to say to you we are going to declare war on any sector of our economy.” Pruitt went on:

The Obama administration pushed the bounds of their authority so far with the CPP that the Supreme Court issued a historic stay of the rule, preventing its devastating effects to be imposed on the American people while the rule is being challenged in court. We are committed to righting the wrongs of the Obama administration by cleaning the regulatory slate.  Any replacement rule will be done carefully, properly, and with humility, by listening to all those affected by the rule.

The EPA, through the Clean Power Plan, expanded its authority to regulate carbon emissions. The Supreme Court put a hold on the CPP in February 2016. EPA spokeswoman Liz Bowman said in a statement to Breitbart News that the Obama administration pushed the bounds of their authority and the Supreme Court issued an “historic” stay against Obama’s Clean Power Plan. Bowman said, “The Obama Administration pushed the bounds of their authority so far that the Supreme Court issued a stay – the first in history – to prevent the so-called ‘Clean Power Plan’ from taking effect. Any replacement rule that the Trump Administration proposes will be done carefully and properly within the confines of the law.”

“EPA will respect the limits of statutory authority.  The CPP ignored states’ concerns and eroded longstanding and important partnerships that are a necessary part of achieving positive environmental outcomes. We can now assess whether further regulatory action is warranted; and, if so, what is the most appropriate path forward, consistent with the Clean Air Act and principles of cooperative federalism,” explained Pruitt.

Over 150 interested parties, including 27 states, 24 trade associations, 37 rural electric co-ops, and three labor unions, sued the former EPA administration in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the CPP was unconstitutional. A bipartisan group of 34 Senators and 171 members of the House filed an amicus brief arguing that the CPP was illegal and skirted Congress’s authority to legislate on environmental issues.

The EPA’s proposed rulemaking contains an analysis that estimates that repealing the CPP would provide up to $33 billion in avoided compliance costs in 2030.

Myron Ebell, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI) director of Energy and Environment programs and the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) transition chair, cheered the EPA’s repeal of the Clean Power Plan in a statement. Ebell said:

CEI applauds EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s move to repeal the so-called Clean Power Plan. This is a huge step toward dismantling the Obama Administration’s war on affordable energy. Repealing the CPP will spur new investment and create new jobs in energy-intensive manufacturing and resource industries. States will now not be forced to close coal-fired power plants or replace them with more expensive and less reliable types of energy.

EPA’s Administrator Scott Pruitt’s decision to eliminate Obama’s Clean Power Plan serves as part of President Trump’s agenda to unravel Obama’s environmental legacy and pursue an America First policy of “energy dominance.”

Pruitt was one of the first Attorneys General to sue the EPA over the Clean Power Plan. Now Pruitt can repeal one of Obama’s hallmark environmental programs.

The EPA plans to release an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that will reflect a more thoughtful approach to EPA action on pollution that remains grounded within the EPA’s limited statutory authority.

Pruitt charged, “With this action, the Trump administration is respecting states’ role and reinstating transparency into how we protect our environment.” 

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