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DEP or EPA: Who Will Write WV's Carbon Rules?

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Friday, January 30, 2015   

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Legislation to shield West Virginia coal from new federal carbon rules could have just the opposite effect, according to environmental watchdogs.

Under an Environmental Protection Agency plan to reduce carbon pollution, states have a lot of flexibility in how they can meet the requirements. But bills moving quickly through the Legislature would limit how the state implements the rules - so much, that analysts say the EPA would almost certainly toss out West Virginia's plan and impose a new one.

Jim Kotcon, energy committee chair for the Sierra Club's West Virginia chapter, said that would be a worse move for the state's economy.

"It is in the state's best interest to develop a rule that is as flexible as possible and as beneficial for West Virginia residents as possible," he said. "I don't think EPA will do that for us."

The bills are part of a broad resistance to federal environmental rules many see as hurting the coal industry. However, James Van Nostrand, associate professor and director of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development at West Virginia University's College of Law, called the legislation short-sighted for ruling out energy conservation.

"You describe it as being 'pro-coal' - I think it ought to be also described as being 'anti-consumer' because it goes down the highest-cost compliance strategy, instead of the lowest cost," he said. "That results in higher utility bills for everyone."

As written, Van Nostrand said, the bills would all but guarantee the EPA would end up imposing a compliance plan on the state.

Kotcon agreed that energy conservation shouldn't be ruled out. As he puts it, "The cleanest and cheapest electricity is the electricity we don't burn."

He added that resisting the carbon rules won't make them go away, and said West Virginia should take advantage of the flexibility the EPA has proposed.

"Whether you support coal or not, if we are serious about a free market, there should be the opportunity to select alternatives," Kotcon said. "This bill does not allow the market to work in that way."

Senate Bill 4 and House Bill 2004 are awaiting hearings in the Judiciary Committees. According to the EPA, states can meet the emissions cuts with combinations of more efficient power plants, shifting to lower-carbon fuels and energy conservation. Lawmakers look likely to limit which tools the Department of Environmental Protection can use when writing the state plan.

The bills can be tracked online at legis.state.wv.us.


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