ATLANTA, GA — Roughly 1,600 people are scheduled to testify at Environmental Protection Agency public hearings across the nation on Tuesday, including elected officials, industry professionals, scientists and environmentalists who support or oppose proposed EPA regulations that would drastically cut carbon emissions from the country’s power plants.
The southeast hearings are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in Atlanta, Georgia. And although Alabama governor Robert Bentley will not be present for the marathon proceedings, he made his feelings on the proposed regulations abundantly clear in a statement to Yellowhammer Tuesday morning.
“The EPA has exceeded its authority in issuing these new regulations,” Bentley said. “Coal is the most reliable source of electricity in Alabama and it costs less than any other source in the state. Alabama’s coal mining industry employs more than 4,500 workers and supports other industries that provide ancillary services to the mining industry. The new EPA plan will effectively kill these jobs and force us to comply with Washington mandates that will make electricity bills go up for Alabama families and businesses. The EPA’s overreach will have devastating effects on the people of Alabama.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates the EPA’s plan will thwart $50 billion a year in GDP and prevent 220,000 jobs per year from being created. Household disposable income is expected to drop more than $550 billion a year. But advocates for the proposal insist that it will go a long way toward saving the planet and its inhabitants from the effects of global warming.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, who has taken the lead in pushing the regulations for the Obama administration, does not plan to attend any of the hearings, but told reporters Monday that they are about “listening to people.”
McCarthy and Bentley have had numerous one-on-one conversations about the regulations.
“I spoke to Gina McCarthy… I had dinner with her in Washington when I was up there in February,” Bentley recalled during an interview with Yellowhammer in June (video below). “She was trying to explain to me about [the new] emissions standard… I asked her, I said, ‘Gina, who comes up with these crazy ideas?’ Well, she stammered around because she couldn’t answer me. I said, ‘You’re killing jobs!'”
Blaine Galliher, a senior advisor to Bentley, will testify on the governor’s behalf Tuesday. Alabama elected officials who are slated to testify include Attorney General Luther Strange, Public Service Commissioner President Twinkle Cavanaugh, Commissioner Jeremy Oden and Commissioner-elect Chip Beeker. Representatives from numerous Alabama trade associations and environmental groups are also slated to voice their opinions.
Yellowhammer will be on hand covering the proceedings first-hand.
Follow Cliff on twitter @Cliff_Sims
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.