Forty-eight Republicans and ten Democratic members of the 203-member House signed a letter to Gov. Wolf urging him to suspend his efforts to adopt a regional carbon pollution reduction program covering power plants known as RGGI.

This action follows an April 21 letter signed by eighteen Senate Republicans urging the Governor to withdraw his October 2019 Executive Order directing DEP to establish the program.

“Much has changed since Gov. Wolf’s RGGI Executive Order,” said Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-Armstrong). “A pandemic has swept the globe, crushing the world’s and Pennsylvania’s economy. Pennsylvania needs to focus on preserving the jobs we have, like those held by the thousands of workers and families who rely on electric generation plants in Armstrong and Indiana counties. Now is not the time to allow policies to advance, like RGGI, that threaten to destroy those jobs and communities.”

The letter highlighted these factors in urging the Governor to rescind the Executive Order--

--The RGGI Executive Order directs DEP to conduct a “robust public outreach” to develop and implement the RGGI regulation, not the bare statutory minimum. To date, DEP has yet to contact plant owners, labor unions and counties impacted by RGGI, and efforts by those groups to conduct public rallies and meetings have been prohibited by the pandemic. [Editor’s Note: These groups have attended multiple legislative hearings, briefings and information sessions to make their positions known.]

-- DEP just published the RGGI modeling data, which demonstrated the following:

     -- The modeling data relies on assumptions in place prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impacts, and is thus already obsolete.

     --  RGGI will trigger the near immediate (and certainly premature) closure of every coal and many less-efficient gas plants in PA. In year one of RGGI, 2022, DEP modeling projects an 89 percent decline in coal-fired generation. [Editor’s Note: The “do nothing” alternative shows a reduction in coal use of 80 percent with or without the proposed pollution reduction program. The reduction is due to market competition with natural gas and renewable energy sources.]

     -- Modeling conclusions did not consider any of the economic fallout associated with these plant closures, which will extend beyond direct workers and plants, to include supply chain, contract jobs, school districts and local governments. [Editor’s Note: At the April 23 meeting with two of its advisory committees, DEP said it has not yet finished the economic impact analysis, but it would be done before the formal public comment period begins.]

     -- Across PJM, carbon dioxide reductions will be minimal as a result of increased power production from non-RGGI states, which is inconsistent with the governor's directive regarding “leakage.”

     --  In 2030, carbon dioxide emissions in Pennsylvania will be comparable with or without Pennsylvania joining RGGI. [Editor’s Note: Modeling found Pennsylvania will experience a 180 million ton reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2020 to 2030 resulting in significant health benefits for Pennsylvania and the region. Similar reductions resulted in an estimated $5.4 billion in avoided health costs in other RGGI states]

-- The only “public outreach” from DEP to date has been through a virtual format and limited to its advisory committees (i.e., CAC and AQTAC) and, during last week’s meeting, DEP prohibited public comment. And, for next week’s AQTAC meeting, it limits public comment period to 15 minutes. [Editor’s Note: Simply untrue. Below is a list of advisory committee presentations and discussions and DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said at several legislative hearings outreached involved dozens of meetings with multiple stakeholders by him and DEP staff.]

-- COVID has eliminated meaningful public comment. Labor rallies have been canceled, standing committee hearings cancelled and local town hall meetings canceled. [Editor’s Note: The Senate, House and DEP have held effective virtual public hearings on a variety of issues since the COVID-19 outbreak.]

Democratic Representatives Frank Burns (D-Cambria), Neal Goodman (D-Schuylkill), William Kortz (D-Allegheny), Mark Longietti (D-Mercer), Gerald Mullery (D-Luzerne), Eric Nelson (D-Philadelphia), Joseph Petrarca (D-Westmoreland), Harry Readshaw (D-Allegheny), Chris Sainato (D-Lawrence) and Pam Snyder (D-Greene) signed the letter.

Click Here for a copy of the letter.

Senate/House Bills Have Not Moved

In November of last year, Senate and House Republicans introduced legislation that would take away DEP’s authority to adopt any carbon pollution reduction program in response to the Governor’s Executive Order.

Neither of the bills-- Senate Bill 950 (Pittman-R-Indiana) and House Bill 2025 (Struzzi-R-Indiana)-- have seen any legislative action, but they have been the subject of multiple hearings, information meetings and briefings.

Reaction To Idea Of Delay

Although not a specific reaction to this letter, the issue of delaying the RGGI proposal did come up in the April 23 meeting of the DEP Citizens Advisory Council and the Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee.

Hayley Book, Senior Advisor on Energy and Climate, who has been managing the RGGI project, said any regulation adopted to implement a carbon pollution reduction program from power plants would not be effective until 2022.  There would be no impacts between now and then

In addition, Book said a recent study by Harvard University has found a link between air pollution-- PM2.5 particulate pollution-- and a higher death rate from COVID-19.

She said there will be plenty more opportunities to comment on the proposal and for continued conversations.

A new poll of Pennsylvania voters released on May 6 found 72 percent of Pennsylvania voters say it is important to them that their electricity comes from energy that doesn’t create carbon emissions.  Read more here.

A poll done in May of last year found 79 percent of Pennsylvanians supported a carbon pollution reduction program covering power plants.

As former Gov. Tom Ridge said in an op-ed in The Atlantic Magazine on Earth Day, conservatives are out of touch with the public on the environment.

Additional Background

Gov. Wolf signed an Executive Order in October directing DEP to join the interstate Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative through a regulation adopted by the Environmental Quality Board.

RGGI is a market-based cap-and-invest by northeast states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

DEP met with the Citizens Advisory Council on November 19 to outline the process for developing the regulations needed to implement the program.

DEP released a draft regulation establishing a proposed cap-and-invest program on January 30, However, it did not include key provisions related to the overall cap on carbon emissions and how much the cap would be reduced each year.

DEP first reviewed it with the Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee on February 13, DEP’s Citizens Advisory Committee on February 18 and the Climate Change Advisory Committee on February 25.

DEP again meet with the Citizens Advisory Council and the Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee April 23 on the proposal to hear a presentation on the latest modeling results

DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell also said the agency has been holding meetings with individual stakeholders on the proposal.

In addition, there have been multiple hearings and information meetings in the Senate and House already on the proposal.  Click Here for more background on Senate and House reviews.

For more information on RGGI, visit DEP’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative webpage.

Related Articles This Week:

DEP Air Quality Advisory Committee Takes No Position On Proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Program For Power Plants

New PA Poll: 72% Of Pennsylvania Voters Say It's Important Their Electricity Comes From Energy Not Creating Carbon Emissions

Delaware River Basin Commission Announces Members Of Climate Change Advisory Committee

Related Articles:

Poll Finds 79% Of Pennsylvania Voters Support Limits On Carbon Pollution From Power Plants

Modeling For Carbon Pollution Reduction Proposal Shows 180M Ton Reduction In CO2, 3% Increase In Electric, Coal Use Drops Either Way

EDF: 2 New Analyses Show Significant Benefits For Pennsylvania By Adopting RGGI-Compatible Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation For Power Plants

DEP Secretary McDonnell: The Time For Action On Climate Change Is Now - And The People Of Pennsylvania Know It

Joint Conservation Committee: DEP- Coal Waste-Fired Power Plants Will Not Incur Significant Compliance Costs Under Draft RGGI Reg.

Senate, House Members Announce Bills To Take Away DEP’s Authority To Adopt Any Greenhouse Gas Reduction Program; Offer No Alternative To Reduce Emissions

New Poll Finds 72% Of PA Voters Want Government To Prioritize Clean Energy In Economic Stimulus

[Posted: May 6, 2020]

5/11/2020