Federal bill would enforce state sovereignty for energy

download

A bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives recently is good news for Kentuckians who stand by the 10th Amendment.

H.R. 3409 is a bipartisan response to the current administration's efforts to use the Environmental Protection Agency to strong-arm Appalachia's energy sector through unprecedented new emission standards and unilateral regulations. The bill makes clear that the Clean Water Act allows states to enforce EPA guidelines as they see fit, without federal encroachment into the states' energy sector.

The Bluegrass Institute has proposed a similar bill this year called the Intrastate Coal and Use Act which would allow the commonwealth to enforce EPA regulations on coal according to its own interpretation as long as the coal is mined, sold, and used exclusively within Kentucky.

Bottom line: the best way to weigh the costs and benefits of Kentucky's energy sector is through local governance, not through far-off bureaucrats in Washington walking political tight ropes high over Appalachian mountains.