NRECA CEO Jim Matheson applauded a series of actions the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that would alleviate reliability and cost challenges for electric co-ops.
The agency said it will review and reconsider the Biden administration’s power plant greenhouse gas rule. The EPA also plans to reconsider other rules hindering America’s energy dominance, including the mercury and air rule, ozone transport rule and power plant wastewater rule. The agency will also address a number of fundamental problems with the coal ash program and take other actions to unleash American energy while protecting the environment.
NRECA flagged concerns with these rules in a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in January, and Matheson met with Zeldin at EPA’s headquarters to discuss these issues. The letter served as a policy roadmap recommending ways the EPA could address harmful regulations for co-ops while ensuring reliable and affordable power and promoting a healthy environment.
“Today’s EPA announcements are another critical step that puts our nation on a path towards a more reliable and resilient electric grid—and not a moment too soon,” Matheson said. “Electricity demand is skyrocketing, yet bad public policy decisions are forcing always-available generation resources to retire faster than they can be reliably replaced.”
The EPA also pledged to revise its Waters of the United States rule to lawfully define which water bodies are subject to Clean Water Act permitting. NRECA has said the Biden administration’s WOTUS rule took an overly broad approach to defining federal waters, creating significant regulatory uncertainty for co-ops.
“We deeply appreciate this administration’s commitment to American energy dominance and sound policies that protect our environment, without leaving American consumers in the dark,” Matheson said.
Molly Christian is a staff writer for NRECA.