Clean Air Council Lauds PA Environmental Quality Board for Adopting CO2 Budget Trading Program

Harrisburg, PA (July 13, 2021) This morning, the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) voted to adopt a final-form rulemaking that will curb climate-disrupting carbon pollution from power plants and link Pennsylvania to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) beginning in 2022.  The EQB is authorized under state law to adopt and promulgate regulations for the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).  Because of this successful vote, the final-form rulemaking will now be presented to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) for consideration at its meeting on September 1st, one of the final stages of the regulatory review process. Pennsylvania currently ranks second in the country in fracked gas production, third in coal production, and has the nation’s fifth-dirtiest electric power sector.

Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council, issued the following statement:

“We congratulate Governor Wolf and his administration for advancing the RGGI rulemaking one step closer to the finish line.  Today’s EQB vote, which follows four different advisory committee votes of approval in May, represents a major milestone in Pennsylvania’s efforts to combat climate change.  Pennsylvania participation in RGGI will yield significant benefits across the board: up to 227 million tons of carbon pollution reductions by 2030; billions of dollars in public health benefits; and hundreds of millions of dollars annually available for reinvestment in Pennsylvania’s environmental justice and frontline communities.  These investments can help improve housing quality, increase efficiency, and lower electricity bills, as well as further eliminate air pollution.

After more than 21 months of public outreach and stakeholder engagement by DEP – including a lengthy public comment period that saw over 14,000 comments submitted, of which nearly 90% supported RGGI – Clean Air Council looks forward to the next step in the process: IRRC’s finding that this rulemaking is clearly in the public interest.”