U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines (Mont.) and John Hoeven (N.D.) today sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan demanding the EPA’s proposed Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) be reversed. The MATS proposed rule would force the Colstrip Generating Station to close, and as forty-two percent of Montana’s electricity comes from coal-fired plants, Colstrip’s closure would kill good-paying jobs, decrease grid reliability and increase in energy costs for Montanans.
“We write to express our strong concerns regarding the proposed rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) published in the Federal Register on April 24, 2023. EPA’s proposed rule will threaten grid reliability and drive up electricity costs by replace the existing cost-effective standards on coal-fired power plants, and we request that the proposed rule be withdrawn,” the letter reads.
“The early retirement of plants that provide reliable baseload power or the additional cost of complying with the new standards will inevitably be passed on to consumers who will have to bear the burden of higher energy costs. We have heard from constituents who are even now struggling with the high cost of energy, and this rule will only accelerate increasing costs. With inflation remaining at elevated levels, this is a poor time to add additional costs for the American people,” the letter continues.
See the full letter Daines and Hoeven sent Administrator Regan HERE.