A 'kinder, gentler' EPA? Don't bet on it

kentucky energy equation

You could remove "West Virginia's" and insert "Kentucky's" in the following conclusion reached by commentator Hoppy Kercheval on what will happen both when the EPA releases its new rules for new power plants in a few days and existing facilities next year:

"These EPA actions will wreck West Virginia’s economy, which depends heavily on the coal industry for good jobs and tax revenue. Yes, coal will still be exported to countries that value economic growth over environmental zealotry, but if the EPA succeeds, the domestic market will eventually dry up."

Concerning rules for new power plants, Kercheval warns: "The agency plans to accomplish its goal by setting carbon emission levels so low that coal power plants would have to install expensive and unproven carbon-capture technology to meet the standards."

He also says "there's no reason to believe" that the new rules for existing power plants "will be any less hostile to coal, which still fuels 39 percent of the electricity generated in this country."

I know coal operators and owners are concerned about rocking a boat that already seems to be losing its moorings, but this is the time for them to tell their state representatives to stand up for Kentucky coal.

A great tool for legislators to do this would be to pass the Intrastate Coal and Use Act, which would defend coal produced and used within Kentucky from EPA radicals, most of whom have never even seen a coal field, much less understood black rock's economic promise.