Oklahoma U.S. Sens. James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin finally got their wish in the fight they started a year ago against the Biden administration and its EPA power plant rules that would have required existing coal-burning power plants and future ones burning natural gas to begin capturing their carbon dioxide in the 2030s.
Saying Biden’s EPA wanted to regulate coal, oil, and gas out of existence, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin, named in the Trump administration, announced Wednesday his agency will undo the former regulations.
“Both proposed rules, if finalized, would deliver savings to American families on electricity bills, and it will ensure that they have the electricity that they need today,” Zeldin told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday. “EPA is taking an important step, reclaiming sanity and sound policy, illustrating that we can both protect the environment and grow the economy.”
Biden finalized the rules last April and set standards for fossil fuel power plants, requiring new and existing plants to reduce carbon pollution by installing carbon capture, sequestration, and storage technology to limit the release of other toxic substances, such as mercury.
It prompted Sens. Lankford and Mullin to join others in filing a Congressional Review Act joint resolution of disapproval. They called the Biden EPa rules “unrealistic emissions requirements” on existing coal-fired power plants and newly constructed gas-fired power plants.
“Presidents cannot invent a law or change the law to fit their preferences; they can only follow the law. The Clean Power Plan does not give Biden the authority to force new unworkable limits for gas-fired combustion turbines and shut down American power plants in order to meet his progressive climate-change agenda,”said Lankford.
Zeldin’s announcement Wednesday drew immediate response from U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, (R-Wyo.) who praised the decision.
“The Biden administration’s outrageous climate rules would have shut down power plants and increased energy costs for families across the country. Repealing these rules will take the handcuffs off of Wyoming’s energy workers so they can unleash affordable, reliable American energy. Thanks to President Trump, the war on American energy is officially over.”
The American Petroleum Institute responded with a statement from Dustin Meyer, Senior Vice President of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs.
“We applaud EPA Administrator Zeldin for taking decisive action to ensure the American people have access to affordable and reliable energy. Our demand for electricity is only growing, and we will continue working with the administration on policies that keep the lights on for the American people.”