FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 7, 2009

Supporters Demand Senate Restore Global Warming Authority to EPA

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2009-As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson testified before the Environment and Public Works Committee today, grassroots advocates turned out in force to demand restoration of the EPA’s authority to regulate global warming pollution from dirty coal plants.

“We’re asking the Senate to empower the EPA,” said Katherine McEachern, a recent Cornell University graduate who now works at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “I know our Senators are up to the task of tackling global warming, but it’s also imperative that they give the EPA back its authority to regulate these filthy coal plants.”

Last month the House of Representatives successfully passed H.R. 2454, a 1,400-page cap-and-trade bill that was the result of months of negotiations. In a highly controversial compromise, the House repealed the Clean Air Act provision that empowered the EPA to regulate carbon pollution from dirty coal plants.

Without this provision, the Obama Administration is powerless to stop hundreds of old, dirty coal plants from spewing global warming pollution into the air. Some of the biggest climate polluters on the planet could be let off the hook.

Even worse, the coal industry is trying to build at least 100 more dirty coal plants. For years, environmental and citizen groups have blocked these plants. Right now the Chesapeake Climate Action Network is fighting two proposed coal plants in Virginia alone. If this Clean Air Act provision is eliminated, local groups may be unable to stop another generation of dependence on dirty coal.

Today marked the beginning of a week-long series of hearings and high-level meetings aimed at producing a Senate complement to the House climate bill. Joining Administrator Jackson were Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar, and more.

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