LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is the latest to join a 21-state coalition that submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in favor of the Trump administration's proposal to end the Clean Power Plan.
In its comments regarding the proposed "Affordable Clean Energy Plan," the coalition argues the plan will give more regulation authority of energy and air quality to the states.
The Affordable Clean Energy Plan is designed to replace the Clean Power Plan proposed in 2014 by President Barack Obama's administration, which was designed to limit carbon dioxide emissions released by power plants.
“The Obama-era Clean Power Plan was illegal and ignored concerns from the states about anticipated skyrocketing rate increases,” Rutledge said in a statment. “President Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy rule returns power to the states by allowing each state to determine the best course of action for its own citizens, rather than a one-size-fits-all mandate from the federal government.”
States joining in the coalition include West Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the Mississippi Public Service Commission and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.