Letter Urges Trump EPA to Support Montana’s Colstrip Power Plant
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) as well as Congressmen Ryan Zinke (MT-01) and Troy Downing (MT-02) today sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging a two-year compliance exemption from harmful Biden-era energy policies to support the continued operation at Montana’s Colstrip Power Plant. If the Biden policies are not reversed, they will lead to increased compliance costs, which will be passed down to the consumer in the form of higher rates or even closure of the plant, which would lead to blackouts across Montana.
“We write in support of NorthWestern Energy and Talen Montana’s request for a two-year Presidential Exemption from the “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units Review of the Residual Risk and Technology Review” (MATS Rule). We appreciate President Trump’s Executive Orders to Power the Great American Comeback and an exemption from this overreaching Biden era rule will allow for continued operation of the Colstrip Steam Electric Station (Colstrip) that is a critical baseload power source for Montana.
“We previously criticized the Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on this MATS Rule laying out how this ill-conceived rule oversteps Congressionally delegated authority and threatens grid reliability. In fact, the Biden EPA admitted that 42% of the burden of the MATS Rule would fall on Colstrip making it clear that this rule specifically targeted this plant.
… We request that you approve this two-year exemption request to prevent negative impacts on Montana’s electric reliability and the increased costs for consumers,” they wrote.
Read the full letter HERE.
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Contact: Matt Lloyd, Rachel Dumke