WASHINGTON - Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., are both attached to a bill that seeks to roll back new EPA regulations announced last year that would require states to cut carbon emissions and broaden their energy portfolio.
The plan has been viewed with outright hostility in the Mountain State, where the main export is coal and the majority of electricity is generated by coal-fired plants.
Critics have argued the goals are unrealistic, won't cut greenhouse gases enough to make an environmental difference and will take away low energy costs in states where that is one of the few advantages to offer for economic development.
"We're asking for commons sense agreement that we can have a bill that supports reliable and affordable energy, puts jobs and the economy first and does what's best for the states," Capito said during a teleconference Wednesday afternoon.
Capito was one of six U.S. senators to announce the Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act in Washington on Wednesday.
At the time of her teleconference, Capito said she was one of 24 co-sponsors on the bill and it might be picking up more.
"Joe Manchin is attached to this, so we have bipartisan support," Capito said. "I expect to get this through committee and I expect Sen. (Mitch) McConnell to get it off the floor."
The four major aims of the bill are to prevent mandates for unproven clean coal technology, extend compliance dates for new EPA regulations, enable states to opt out of the EPA's Clean Power Plan if it proves detrimental to that state's economy and require the EPA, not the states, to come up with plans to show how a given state can meet the agency's goals.
Whether the Obama Administration would buy into the legislation is a matter of contention, but Capito argues it at least forces the president to reconsider his energy policy.
"Let's find a middle ground here," she said. "I think this bill helps move us in that direction."
The Clean Power Plan leaves room for coal plants in a more diverse energy portfolio, but the reliability of the country's energy infrastructure under such a policy has been questioned.
Coal industry supporters have argued the plan puts an unfair burden on existing coal-fired plants by forcing them to use technology that is not yet economically feasible, and essentially eliminates the potential for building new coal-fired plants.
Capito also criticized the EPA for requiring states to meet certain emissions guidelines, but putting the onus for developing a plan on the individual states.
"I would say the frustration I've had is the president has said you've got to meet certain metrics and we're going to give you the flexibility to meet those metrics," Capito said. "I would say why don't you, Mr. President, have the EPA lay these things out. I think they're punting the most difficult part of their plan.”