US Appeals Court Hears Arguments in Clean Power Plan Case

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

US Appeals Court Hears Arguments in Clean Power Plan Case

By MICHAEL BIESECKER, ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Sep 27, 2016, 2:08 PM ET

Lawyers for a coalition of states and businesses reliant on fossil fuels made their case Tuesday to a federal appeals court that President Barack Obama's plan to curtail climate-warming greenhouse gases is an unlawful power grab.

The Clean Power Plan, which aims to ratchet down carbon emissions from coal-burning power plants, has been challenged by more than two dozen mostly Republican-led states led by West Virginia and Texas, as well as allied industry groups that profit from extracting and burning coal and oil.

The opponents contend the carbon-cutting plan unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency will kill coal-mining jobs and drive up electricity costs. The Obama administration, Democratic-led states and environmental groups counter it will spur hundreds of thousands of new clean-energy jobs installing emissions-free wind turbines and solar panels.

The Supreme Court has delayed implementation until the legal challenges are resolved.

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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/dc-appeals-court-set-hear-clean-power-plan-42385064

[tonyt53]

1. Until the slowdown in drilling, WV had more people employed in oil and gas than coal 10 years before

Lip service to coal mining interests. IN WV alone, mountaintop removal eliminated about 60% of the jobs needed when compared to typical underground mining. I had an older retired former coal miner from WV tell me about 40 years ago that he has been working in mines that mined to daylight on the opposite side they started on. Underground mining leaves more coal than it takes. Mountaintop removal gets it all with far fewer people.