Saturday, July 9, 2011

Coal industry braces for massive layoffs

Liberal blogs and pundits are hugely perplexed at the horrible job numbers recently. They just can't figure it out. They blame businesses for trying to sabotage Obama. They blame Republicans for not letting them spend trillions more in stim money. They blame the American people for voting for the GOP in the first place.

Maybe they should look in a mirror:

The coal industry is crying foul over new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations which they say will be among the most be costly rules ever imposed by the agency on coal-fueled power plants.

The result, industry insiders say: substantially higher electricity rates and massive job loss.

"The EPA is ignoring the cumulative economic damage new regulations will cause," said Steve Miller, president and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE). "America's coal-fueled electric industry has been doing its part for the environment and the economy, but our industry needs adequate time to install clean coal technologies to comply with new regulations. Unfortunately, EPA doesn't seem to care."

Thursday the EPA announced that they have finalized additional Clean Air Act provisions, collectively known as "The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule" to ostensibly "reduce air pollution and attain clean air standards," by requiring coal companies in 27 states to slash emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide by 73 percent and 54 percent, respectively, from 2005 levels by 2014.

Energy and Commerce Committee chair Rep. Upton:

"The goal for these rules should be reasonable regulation that protects public health and the environment while also preserving economic growth. Unfortunately, the unprecedented pace at which the administration is issuing major new rules that impose new costs and regulatory requirements on states, employers, and consumers fails that basic test," said Upton. "By issuing multiple regulations for the energy and other sectors at such an accelerated rate, EPA has turned regulation from a manageable tool into an unpredictable moving target that makes it difficult for companies to invest and create jobs."

The administration has the same problem with CAFE standards for auto mileage - too much, too soon, with little regard for the economic impact on the industry. What is truly pathetic is that the liberals have no concept of how their feel good environmental policies contribute to the miserable job numbers for which they are desperately looking for someone to blame.

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