The Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee today (August 18) approved a letter to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) formally opposing a Regulation to have Pennsylvania join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), according to Senator Joe Pittman. The IRRC reviews regulations from nearly all state agencies, boards and commissions before they go into effect.
Senator Pittman told the committee that the letter represented the thousands of households in his district that rely on the production of carbon-emitting electricity for their livelihood. He added that the Governor’s estimates of revenues have wildly fluctuated over the 22 months since he issued his edict to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) mandating that Pennsylvania join RGGI.
“There is no certainty. There is no understanding of what this revenue is, what it can be used for, or how real it even is,” he said
Senator Pittman told the committee that neither the Governor nor any member of his Administration had visited the 41st Senatorial District over the past 22 months to discuss RGGI and the fact that the carbon tax it would impose would eliminate good paying jobs and devastate local families.
“It’s easy to talk about the impacts when you don’t live in the backyard of 6,000 megawatts of carbon-emitting electricity that happens to be keeping our lights on right now and keeping us cool,” Senator Pittman said. “What I find most insulting is the fact that all we are doing, by DEP’s own admission, is shifting power production to West Virginia and Ohio and that is a fact.”
Click for audio of Senator Pittman’s comments. Click for video of the committee meeting.
Contact: Jeremy Dias jdias@pasen.gov