Reps. Castor, Tonko, SEEC Condemn Proposed Repeal of Power Sector Regulations, Remind EPA of Congressional Mandate to Protect Public Health and our Pocketbooks

WASHINGTON D.C. - House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Member Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14) and SEEC Co-Chair Paul Tonko (NY-20) led a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin, urging the agency to not repeal greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants, a significant threat to the American people and their pocketbooks. They were joined by SEEC Co-Chairs Reps. Doris Matsui (CA-7) and Mike Quigley (IL-5) along with 81 of their House Democratic colleagues.

“The EPA is proposing to make a finding that GHG emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants do not contribute significantly to dangerous air pollution,” the members wrote. “The EPA has offered no new analysis to support this claim. In fact, according to EPA’s own reporting from August 2024, power plants are responsible for almost a quarter of U.S. GHG emissions, or about 3 percent of all global climate pollution. The power sector is the second-largest source of U.S. climate pollution.”

The members continued, “Congress has repeatedly affirmed EPA’s authority and obligation under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act to protect Americans from air pollution that endangers public health or welfare … Congress reaffirmed this authority in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by explicitly providing funding and direction for EPA to regulate power plants’ carbon pollution using existing authorities, which include those in Section 135. Congress was clear: EPA can and must use its Clean Air Act authority to establish carbon pollution standards for power plants, protecting Americans from pollution sources that cause air pollution that endangers public health or welfare.”

“We strongly oppose this proposed repeal and urge EPA to adhere to their Congressionally mandated responsibility to issue robust standards that limit pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants, thereby cutting pollution and protecting public health.”

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the EPA finalized impactful greenhouse gas emissions standards for new gas and existing coal power plants that would curb 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution through 2047 and provide hundreds of billions of dollars in health and climate benefits. On June 11, the Trump Administration’s EPA proposed to repeal all GHG emission standards for the power sector.

The letter can be found here.