Wisconsin Joins Lawsuit Against EPA’s New Coal Plant Restrictions

Via The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:  

Wisconsin joined 23 others states Tuesday in a federal lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations aimed at sharply curtailing construction of coal-fired power plants.

Attorney General Brad Schimel’s office said Wisconsin was joining the other states in a lawsuit filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.

The regulations set carbon emissions limits that would require new plants to use expensive and unproven technology, said Schimel, a Republican.

The suit is the second Wisconsin has joined in recent weeks in which states are contesting regulations by the Obama administration to fight global warming by limiting carbon dioxide emissions. The first suit Oct. 23 challenges rules forcing existing coal plants to cut carbon emissions.

In both, the states say the rules will heap higher costs on consumers and business. In Wisconsin, officials say the regulations would fall hard on the manufacturing sector because utilities here rely more on coal as a source of electric generation than many states.

Under the rule, utilities would be required to build natural gas-fired plants or build coal plants that capture the carbon dioxide, and then bury it underground or ship it by pipeline to companies for enhanced oil recovery.

Wisconsin and other states say the rules rely upon unproven technology.

In a statement, GOP Gov. Scott Walker said he supported the suit.

“The Obama administration ignored the concerns submitted by Wisconsin and other states across the nation, instead pursuing a political agenda that will increase costs and prevent the construction of future power plants producing reliable, affordable electricity for our state,” Walker said.

However, environmentalists have backed the rules because coal plants are a key source of carbon dioxide emissions and natural gas is plentiful. Natural gas plants produce fewer carbon emissions.

Thomas Content of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this story.

See the article here.