The Environmental Protection Agency is making and adjusting regulations for both air and water issues that impact Alaska uniquely. In two separate EPA rule-making issues, Senator Murkowski together with Senator Sullivan have stood up to protest and protect Alaska from the “Protection Agency.” Alaska Public Media reported on both: CO2 Rule. Water Regs.
EPA Head: Alaska ‘Uniqueness’ Could Mean Immunity From CO2 Rule
In Alaska, the rule applies to five power plants on the Railbelt grid. Critics say it would drive up rates in Fairbanks, which depends in part on a coal plant. But energy efficiency advocates argue Alaska could substantially cut emissions with incentives to lower consumer demand and improve the infrastructure of the grid. The latter is an expensive proposition the state has been considering for years.
See Full Story at Alaska Public Media
Murkowski: Alaskans ‘Scared to Death’ of Water Reg
Today Sen. Lisa Murkowski pressed EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy on the proposed regulation. Alaska has nearly two-thirds of the nation’s wetlands, and Murkowski says the rule has all kinds of people worried, from homebuilders to miners and energy companies.
“They are scared to death about what we might see with application of this rule,” Murkowski told McCarthy. “And you keep using the word ‘clarification,’ or ‘this is just to clarify,’ but again I’m hearing from too many different sectors saying, ‘This is not clarification. This is a limitation on our ability to not only move but to breathe.’”
