U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is hoping to send a strong message to the Biden administration by introducing a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recently released power plant rules.
Although Capito said she has “no illusions” that President Joe Biden would sign the resolution into law, she said there is enough support among lawmakers for the measure to pass the Senate and House of Representatives.
“The big stumbling block, of course, (is) the president will not sign this and we don’t have enough to override his veto,” Capito said Thursday. “But we’re certainly sending a strong message that we don’t agree with what this is going to do to the heartland of the country and really all parts of the country.”
The Congressional Review Act was enacted as part of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996. It is tool that members of Congress can use to overturn certain federal rules, according to information from the Congressional Research Service.
However, the act was rarely employed until the administration of former President Donald Trump. Trump signed 14 resolutions of disapproval into law, which were largely aimed at rolling back policies enacted under former President Barack Obama.
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has pledged to support Capito’s resolution.
“We’ll work together on that. Her and I, our teams are going to work together,” Manchin said last week. “Absolutely. We’ll have a CRA on this. Hopefully, we’ve got more than just 51-to-52; you need 60 (Senate votes). Still, the president will veto it, and it’s going to end up in court.”
The EPA’s power plant rules have already become a factor in the upcoming presidential election, Manchin said.
“I think it could very much put President Biden’s election in peril — it very much could,” Manchin said. “Especially if Donald Trump ... would ever get the verbiage down on this and be able to explain it in a more rational, more central way.”
Gov. Jim Justice held an event at Independence Hall in Wheeling last week to condemn the rules. He was joined by a group of coal miners.
“The EPA and White House’s tone is clear: West Virginia doesn’t matter,” Justice said. “We are being told to close our facilities and send workers home without considering the economic impact. All West Virginians need to support our miners right now.”
West Virginia’s mining industry directly and indirectly employs around 55,400 workers, according to the state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training.
The power plant rules are intended to “to protect all communities from pollution and improve public health without disrupting the delivery of reliable electricity,” according to an EPA press release.
The suite of final rules includes:
A final rule for existing coal-fired and new natural-gas-fired power plants that would ensure all coal-fired plants that plan to operate in the long-term and all new baseload gas-fired plants control 90% of their carbon pollution.
A final rule that would strengthen and update the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants, tightening the emissions standard for toxic metals by 67% and finalizing a 70% reduction in the emissions standard for mercury from existing lignite-fired sources.
A final rule that would reduce pollutants discharged through wastewater from coal-fired power plants by more than 660 million pounds per year, ensuring cleaner water for affected communities, including communities with environmental justice concerns that are disproportionately impacted.
A final rule that would require the safe management of coal ash that is placed in areas which were unregulated at the federal level until now, including at previously used disposal areas that may leak and contaminate groundwater.