Power plant
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced she has joined a 21-state bipartisan coalition in support of President Donald J. Trump’s proposed replacement of the so-called Clean Power Plan.
“The Obama-era Clean Power Plan was illegal and ignored concerns from the states about anticipated skyrocketing rate increases,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “President Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy rule returns power to the states by allowing each state to determine the best course of action for its own citizens, rather than a one-size-fits-all mandate from the federal government.”
The coalition filed comments with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expressing support of President Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy rule and believes it will respect the important role of states in regulating energy and air quality. The rule fully embraces the intent of Congress for cooperation between the State and federal governments, correcting the Obama-era, one-size-fits-all model that would have a devastating impact on Arkansas ratepayers.
The Affordable Clean Energy rule restores each state’s authority to consider factors specific to the energy needs of the state, includes costs, practical achievability and the useful life of any particular power plant. It also adopts a more individualized approach to rulemaking, including that the framework of any replacement must set achievable targets for individual plants, which is a stark contrast to the Obama EPA’s effort to shutter coal-fired power plants.
The coalition, in remaining consistent with prior arguments, expressed some concern and offered a solution for potential double regulation created by the Affordable Clean Energy rule, but otherwise expressed its support.
Arkansas joined the West Virginia-led filing with attorneys general in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming, along with Mississippi’s Public Service Commission and Department of Environmental Quality.
