08.03.15

Hoeven Statement on the EPA's New More Costly Carbon Emissions Rule

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s new, more costly carbon emissions rule:

“The Obama administration today issued its final rule on proposed CO2 reduction rules and a timeline to implement them by 2030. Under the previously issued proposed rule, North Dakota would have had to reduce carbon emissions by approximately 12 percent. However, it now appears that the administration’s final rule will require North Dakota to reduce CO2 emissions by 45 percent. That’s well above the 32 percent national average reduction the EPA is requiring, and it’s also after the industry has already invested hundreds of millions of dollars to reduce emissions. North Dakota is one of only 14 states in the nation to meet all ambient air quality standards.

“The final rule will drive up the cost of producing electricity, which will in turn, drive up the cost of electricity to American families and businesses. According to Management Information Services, it will raise the price of power and gas for the average American family by more than $1,225 a year by 2030, and reduce the U.S. economy by more than $2.3 trillion over the next two decades.

“We all want a clean environment and good stewardship, but the administration’s approach is the wrong way to go about it. Instead, the right approach is to work with industry. Through innovation, North Dakota’s lignite industry reduced carbon emissions in 2012 to their lowest level in 17 years, and they continue to fall. Innovation will help us to reduce carbon emissions in a way that will not burden our economy, cost jobs and increase the cost of energy for consumers and businesses.”

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