WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), released the following statement on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposal to replace the Clean Power Plan rule.

“The so-called ‘Clean Power Plan’ would have cost Wyoming’s energy workers their jobs and devastated communities throughout the state,” said Barrasso. “The Obama-era regulation wasn’t just bad policy, it was illegal. I am glad the Trump administration is focused on getting this punishing rule off the books.

“Washington must work with Wyoming, and other states, in this process. States play an important role in protecting America’s air. I look forward to reviewing the administration’s proposed replacement. The state of Wyoming and other stakeholders should have a chance to give their feedback and look at this issue with a fresh lens.”

 

Background Information:

Wyoming is the nation’s leading producer of coal, accounting for about 40 percent of America’s total coal production. In 2016, coal production employed 5,682 workers in Wyoming.

On March 27, 2018, Barrasso participated in an EPA-held listening session in Gillette, WY on the proposed repeal of the Obama administration’s so-called “Clean Power Plan” regulation. On October 10, 2017, the EPA published a draft rule to repeal the regulation.

On January 12, 2018, Barrasso and every Republican member of the EPW committee, sent a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt in support of the agency’s repeal of the Obama administration’s burdensome Clean Power Plan regulation.

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