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H. C. R. No. 9 As IntroducedAs Introduced
| 129th General Assembly | | Regular Session | | 2011-2012 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Landis, Carey, Blessing, Adams, J., Slaby, Young, Grossman, Combs, Stebelton, Brenner, Huffman
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION | To urge the United States Congress, the President of
the United States, and the United States
Environmental Protection Agency to immediately
suspend the Proposed Air Pollution Transport Rule.
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF OHIO
(THE SENATE CONCURRING):
| WHEREAS, On August 2, 2010, the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) published its Proposed Air Pollution
Transport Rule (Proposed Transport Rule), 75 Fed. Reg. 45,210; and |
| WHEREAS, Under the Proposed Transport Rule, the EPA proposes
to limit the interstate transport of power plant emissions from
electric generation units within 31 states, including Ohio, plus
the District of Columbia; and |
| WHEREAS, The Proposed Transport Rule is part of a suite of
regulatory actions undertaken by the EPA targeting coal-fired
power plants with the objective of forcing electric utilities to
abandon coal as a fuel source by making it too expensive for
utilities to burn coal; and |
| WHEREAS, The Electric Power Research Institute projects that
the future existence and viability of almost 50% of the nation's
coal-fired power plants are at risk due to the Proposed Transport
Rule and other EPA regulatory actions; and |
| WHEREAS, The Proposed Transport Rule contains numerous
factual errors and incorrect assumptions about emission sources in
Ohio; and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA used incorrect information in the Proposed
Transport Rule to model incorrect effects from Ohio emissions
sources on downwind states' air quality; and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA used the results of its flawed modeling
procedures and inputs to propose overly stringent emission
limitations for the State of Ohio in the Proposed Transport Rule;
and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA received numerous requests to extend the
public comment period on the Proposed Transport Rule beyond
October 1, 2010, but denied those requests; and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA must provide an implementation schedule for
any proposed regulation that is reasonably achievable, but the
Proposed Transport Rule establishes unreasonable compliance
deadlines of 2012 and 2014, which do not provide adequate
opportunity to install pollution controls or implement fuel
switches for plants that are not currently equipped with such
controls or burning low sulfur fuel; and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA failed to consider the economic implications
of numerous plants attempting to implement fuel switches in such a
short time frame, including coal shortages, artificial inflation
of low sulfur coal and natural gas prices, legal costs in
breaching existing long-term coal contracts, and disastrous
employment effects on the Ohio coal mining industry; and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA failed to consider the economic implications
of pollution control equipment installation, such as construction
delays due to limited raw materials and skilled workforce when
completing numerous complicated retrofits, the lack of credit for
pollution control installations already made under the Clean Air
Interstate Rule, the lengthy outages necessary to complete
numerous complicated retrofits, the disincentive for retrofit
given the virtually nonexistent trading provisions in the Proposed
Transport Rule, and the increased cost of electricity to
consumers, when calculating the cost effectiveness of the emission
reductions required in Ohio; and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA failed to protect the reliability of the
electric grid by not adequately considering the impact of outages
necessary to accommodate fuel switches and pollution control
installation within the narrow time frame necessary to comply with
the proposed overly stringent emission limitations; and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA did not adequately consider the cost
effectiveness of downwind states making local emission reductions
within their own state borders, rather than burdening upwind
states with costly emission reductions; and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA fails to allow for significant interstate
trading under the Proposed Transport Rule, which will result in an
increased burden on coal-dependent states like Ohio, even where
facilities operating in Ohio may have adequate credits generated
by out-of-state facilities that could ease the economic and timing
burdens on coal-fired assets in Ohio; and |
| WHEREAS, Individual states should be allowed to fashion a
plan that meets the requirements of law in a manner that, in the
state's judgment, best conforms to the state's preferences and
regulatory policies; and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA's use of a Federal Implementation Plan in
the Proposed Transport Rule undermines the rights of Ohio to
govern the method of its own compliance and is contrary to the
provisions in the Clean Air Act because Ohio's State
Implementation Plan has never been disapproved; and |
| WHEREAS, The Proposed Transport Rule and the related EPA
actions appear to be an attempt by the EPA to unilaterally develop
and implement a new nationwide greenhouse gas regulatory scheme
entirely without the involvement or oversight by the elected
leaders of the United States Congress or the involvement of
individual states; and |
| WHEREAS, The EPA's unbalanced and short-sighted actions have
the potential to cause severe economic harm to Ohio and the
country through the destruction of jobs, elimination of entire
industries, and large increases in energy costs across the nation;
now therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That the members of the 129th General Assembly of
the State of Ohio urge the United States Congress, the President
of the United States, and the EPA to immediately suspend the
Proposed Transport Rule so that the EPA can correct data inputs
and assumptions in order to address the numerous concerns and
incorrect data identified by those commenting on the Proposed
Transport Rule, have an additional comment period on the Proposed
Transport Rule and all supplemental Notices to allow for a full
evaluation of the proposed regulations, conduct a detailed study
of the economic impacts of the Proposed Transport Rule and
alternatives that includes economic impacts on related industries
in Ohio such as the coal industry, and re-assess the cumulative
impact of all pending regulations likely to affect the electric
utility and coal industries to determine a consolidated approach
calculated to maintain the viability of economically sound assets;
and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the members of the 129th General Assembly of
the State of Ohio urge the United States Congress, the President
of the United States, and the EPA to adequately protect the
thousands of coal-related jobs in the affected upwind states,
including Ohio, to avoid further harming the economies of those
states; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Legislative Clerk of the House of
Representatives transmit duly authenticated copies of this
resolution to the President of the United States, the
Administrator of the EPA, the Speaker and Clerk of the United
States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore and
Secretary of the United States Senate, the members of the Ohio
Congressional delegation, and the news media of Ohio. |
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