U.S. Chamber backs bipartisan bill to scale back EPA emissions rules

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is putting its weight behind a bill authored by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) that would scrap EPA’s plan to set strict emissions targets for newly constructed power plants. Instead, the bill favors regulations on new plants based on emissions targets already achieved by existing plants. The bill also prevents the EPA from requiring carbon capture and sequestration until it has been successfully demonstrated at commercial-scale pilot plants. “EPA’s designation of CCS as the best system for compliance with this rule amounts to little more than a regulatory euphemism for what is plainly a ban on the construction of new coal-fired power plants,” U.S. Chamber Executive VP for Government Affairs R. Bruce Josten wrote in a letter to Congress on Monday.  

Read more