The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) has submitted a feasibility study to the state Legislature related to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan for Existing Power Plants. To read the Feasibility Report, and an accompanying analysis by the Marshall University Center for Business and Economic Research, click on the WVDEP’s website http://www.dep.wv.gov/pio/Pages/Clean-Power-Plan.aspx
The study was mandated by House Bill 2004, which passed the Legislature in 2015. It looked at the feasibility of developing a state plan for the regulation of emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in order to comply with the requirements in the U.S. EPA’s rule, which was stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court in February pending the outcome of a legal challenge led by West Virginia’s attorney general. The study, submitted yesterday afternoon, required a comprehensive analysis of the potential effects the rule – which is 111(d) of the Clean Air Act – on the state, its people and its economy.
The WVDEP will not develop a state plan to comply with the 111(d) Rule unless the stay of the Clean Power Plan is lifted. If a state plan is developed, the agency would be charged with drafting such a plan and submitting it to the Legislature for approval before submitting it to the U.S. EPA.
To conduct the analysis the Legislature required, the WVDEP (1.) solicited information from the owners of the state’s electric generating units; (2.) hired Marshall University’s Center for Business and Economic Research, which subcontracted with Energy Ventures Analysts Inc. of Arlington, Virginia, for economic and market analysis of the impact of the 111(d) Rule; (3.) identified parties from business, labor, environmental and public interest groups and governmental agencies with potentially useful information concerning this assessment and solicited their input; (4.) notified the public of the feasibility assessment and comprehensive analysis and accepted and reviewed comments; and (5.) conducted independent research on topics related to the assessment and analysis.
For more DEP news and information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, be sure to connect with the agency on all social media platforms. Follow @DEPWV on Twitter and find us on YouTube by searching “Environment Matters.” For specific information about our REAP (Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan), West Virginia Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), West Virginia Watershed Improvement Branch, Youth Environmental Program and Human Resources initiatives, connect on Facebook.
