WASHINGTON, D.C. — The federal EPA announced Tuesday it has extended the public comment period on the new Clean Power Plan by 45 days, taking it to Dec. 1.
EPA Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation Janet McCabe told reporters in an afternoon conference call the agency has heard from many groups impacted by the rule.
“We got a number of requests from a variety of different stakeholders suggesting they would like some additional time. So taking that all into account, we felt it was appropriate to provide that additional time,” she said.
The rule proposes cutting carbon pollution produced by coal plants by 30 percent from the 2005 level. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and other state leaders have said it will force the closure of more coal-fired power plants.
McCabe had a message Tuesday for those opposing the rule.
“The critics have been wrong before and they’re wrong again. Throughout EPA history we’ve cut air pollution by 70 percent while GDP has tripled,” she said. “Choosing between a healthy environment and a healthy economy is a false choice. The truth is a strong world-leading economy depends on a healthy environment and a stable climate. We cannot have one without the other.”
The EPA set the original comment period for 120 days. McCabe said Tuesday the additional 45 days should be more than enough time.
“To us 45 days seemed like a reasonable amount of time to add to that already fairly extensive comment period,” she said.
The agency still plans to have the rule finalized by next June.
McCabe said since the announcement of the rule the EPA has reached out to have meetings with officials from all 50 states, held four public hearings where 2,700 people attended and taken in 775,000 public comments.
McCabe called the Clean Power Rule a commonsense proposal that is “practical, flexible and achievable.”