Senator Mitch McConnell urged his colleagues Wednesday to force the Environmental Protection Agency to rewrite stringent regulatory standards on emissions from coal-fired power plants. The Senate voted down a resolution Wednesday that would have prevented the EPA from implementing the so-called "Utility MACT" regulation that McConnell and others insist is part of a "war on coal." The resolution was defeated 46-53. McConnell said the regulation would expand the already massive powers given to the EPA by increasing red tape and costing the taxpayer over $10 billion dollars each year. He said, in Kentucky alone, it threatens the jobs of over 1,400 people working in aluminum smelter plants as well as approximately 18,000 coal miners, not to mention those engaged in industries that support these jobs. McConnell said Kentucky Power Co. plans to shut down a coal-fired generating plant rather than bear the cost of nearly $1 billion in upgrades to meet the environmental standards.
