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RESCHEDULED to Feb. 2: Senate Environmental Committee Meets On Letter Urging IRRC To Disapprove Of Reg. Reducing Carbon Pollution From Power Plants; Bill To Kill Program Introduced, Again

RESCHEDULED to Feb. 2 as an Off the Floor meeting. Listen for the announcement.

The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee is scheduled to hold a meeting February 2 to consider a letter to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission recommending they disapprove of a proposed regulation reducing Carbon Pollution from Power Plants.

This is the first meeting of the Committee in this new legislative session.

Also introduced Friday was Senate Bill 119 (Pittman-R- Indiana) that would kill the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Program covering power plants. Gov. Wolf vetoed a similar bill last year. Read more here.

On January 12, Republicans and one Democrat on the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted to approve a letter to the IRRC disapproving of the proposed regulation. Read more here.

So far, the IRRC received 51 letters from individual Senate and House members or groups of members, with some duplicates. The lines are clear-- Republicans and an Independent oppose, Democrats support. No one has crossed that line.

In fact, 28 Senators-- 27 Republicans and one Independent-- wrote a joint letter opposing the regulation. Read more here.

Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), Majority Chair of the Senate Environmental Committee, wrote a separate letter opposed to the rule.

Sen. Carolyn Comitta, Minority Chair of the Senate Environmental Committee, wrote a letter supporting the regulation.

Three guesses on which way the Senate Environmental Committee vote will go on the letter-- and the first two don’t count.

The Environmental Quality Board public comment period on the regulation ended on January 14. During 10 public hearing sessions on the regulation, 95 percent of the comments were in favor of the program. Read more here.