SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline) — California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Jan. 9 that he is leading a coalition of 19 states and municipalities in defending the Clean Power Plan (CPP). The coalition drafted a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about proposed rulemaking to dismantle the CPP.
According to the coalition, the proposed rulemaking violates due process, lacks fairness and causes concerns about the ethics of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s involvement. The coalition believes the CPP to be an effective policy that will reduce carbon pollution from power plants.
"Administrator Pruitt must be recused from any involvement in the EPA's attempt to repeal the Clean Power Plan," Becerra said. "He has made a name for himself as someone who will do everything in his power to axe this important environmental policy, and he cannot credibly claim to have an open mind about it. His words speak for themselves. The Clean Power Plan would reduce coal and gas-fired power plant emissions by 16 percent by 2030, while avoiding 3,500 premature deaths per year. This is what Administrator Pruitt is against. He ought to do his job and protect our environment instead of catering to the fossil fuel industry.”
