State of Delaware will continue preparing for implementation of the Clean Power Plan, despite a Supreme Court stay of the EPA’s proposed rule issued Feb. 9.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has scheduled a public workshop and listening session for March 1 in Dover to discuss the state’s strategy toward meeting the objectives of the Clean Power Plan, and to “gather input from citizens on this essential part of the fight against climate change and its impacts on Delawareans,” a release from DNREC stated.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell was “disappointed in the Supreme Court’s action, but optimistic that the Clean Power Plan will be upheld when the courts review the merits of the case” and followed by declaring that, “We remain determined to move forward in responding to the issue of climate change.”
Delaware is down to one coal-fired unit at the Indian River station near Millsboro. A decade ago, power plants in Edgemoor and Dover were coal-powered.
Groups like the National Association of Manufacturers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers have opposed the clean air standards. The IBEW represents workers at coal-fired power plants that are being shut down, due to clean air standards and operate with more staff than gas-fired generators.
Republican legislators and the Caesar Rodney Institute have also been critical of the state’s strategy, claiming that the policy is killing jobs through high utility prices.
“As a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) state, Delaware has led the country in working to curtail greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector,” Markell said, “and we will continue to do so regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision to stay the Clean Power Plan rule. As a coastal state, we are acutely aware of the serious threats of climate change and sea level rise, and the Clean Power Plan represents a sensible and flexible approach for states to make the changes required to protect our economy and quality of life.”
Delaware faces projected increased days of extreme temperatures, stronger storms, rising sea levels, and costly damage to agriculture, industry, and public health and resources, the DNREC release stated.
“We understand that the legal issues of the Clean Power Plan need to work themselves out, but we must continue the strong actions we have taken through our participation in RGGI, the Delaware Climate Change Impact Assessment and Executive Order 41, which has directed agencies to identify steps we can take to further reduce emissions and adapt,” said DNREC Secretary David Small. “Along with many other states, we will continue to develop our plans to comply with the Clean Power Plan – and gathering feedback from stakeholders in the energy sector, conservation organizations and the public is an important part of that process. ”
Small noted that as of 2014, RGGI states including Delaware have seen carbon pollution from the power sector decrease by over 40 percent, and have benefitted from lower energy costs and positive job creation, the DNREC release stated.
The DNREC session will be held from 6 – 8 p.m. in the DNREC Auditorium, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901. More information can be found on the Division of Air Quality’s website.
