Mixed Reviews Of EPA's Clean Power Plan
Power plants are the number one source of carbon pollution in the United States. Monday was the final day to comment on the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan.
The EPA has received a record number of comments.
The EPA proposes power plants cut carbon pollution by 26 percent by 2020 and 30 percent by 2030.
The federal proposal doesn’t go far enough, said David Doniger, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group. He said power plants can cut even more for the same amount of money EPA proposes.
“The costs of clean energy are falling dramatically and EPA’s June proposal was not based on the current cost data for renewable electricity and energy efficiency,” Doniger said.
Arizona Speaker of the House Andy Tobin and other Republican lawmakers said in a letter to the EPA that the proposal would be too costly to implement in a state that relies so heavily on coal.
The EPA said it’s worth it as the United States will see at least $55 billion in public health and climate benefits as a result of cutting carbon pollution.
