EPA nominee Gina McCarthy says coal a 'significant' energy source
In a US Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, Gina McCarthy, President Obama鈥檚 pick to lead the EPA, told a Senate panel on Thursday that coal will remain important in the U.S. energy mix and that if confirmed that she will be flexible in applying new pollution rules聽for coal-fueled power plants.
鈥淐oal has been and will continue to be a significant source of energy in the United States, and I take my job seriously when developing those standards to provide flexibility in the rules,鈥� McCarthy said.
According to a story from聽, 鈥�Republican Senators John Barrasso of Wyoming and James Inhofe of Oklahoma, among others, quizzed McCarthy about the economic impact of its rules on states that rely on coal as a primary energy source, and about her feelings toward job losses when coal plants close.鈥�
Barrasso said rules that prevent new coal plants from being built and would potentially shut down existing coal plants are already causing 鈥渃hronic unemployment鈥� in Wyoming.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 heard yet any plain statements from EPA 鈥揾opefully we will today from this nominee 鈥� about the negative health impacts and lives lost from chronic unemployment caused by the EPA policies,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is a serious health epidemic and it seems to go unnoticed by the EPA. How many more times will an EPA administrator pull the regulatory lever that will allow another mining family to fall through the EPA鈥檚 trap door of joblessness, poverty and poor health,鈥� he said. 鈥淎re coal miners no longer heroes to the nominee and the EPA? These people are heroes and they deserve better than they鈥檙e getting from the EPA,鈥� Barrasso said.
Coal is mined in 25 U.S. states and is responsible for more than 760,000 jobs in the United States. Wyoming is the largest coal-producing state, followed by West Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
