Governor Gordon deeply concerned over the EPA’s Transport Rule

Governor Gordon and six other governors representing states included in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), are deeply concerned over the consequences of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Transport Rule and its impact on the SPP’s ability to deliver reliable electricity. The Governors say the EPA’s decisions demonstrate the repeated attempts at federal overreach by the Biden Administration, according to a recent press release.

“I have made it clear from day one, I would stand up to federal overreach, especially where it negatively impacts Wyoming’s people and industries,” stated Governor Gordon. “Wyoming has a strong environmental track record of working with coal and gas power plants to improve air quality. As a result of responsible, state-led stewardship, ozone levels in our region continue to decline. The EPA’s decision to ignore state plans – and their demonstrated effectiveness – appears to be politically motivated by the Administration’s goal of eliminating energy from fossil fuels. The impacts of these decisions will hurt Wyoming and American families by creating a scarcity of energy and increased costs for electricity.”

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In addition to pushing the Transport Rule forward, the EPA has summarily disapproved multiple SPP state transport implementation plans – clearly disregarding the states’ authority to regulate air quality. The Governors requested the SPP expedite a full review of the impacts that the Transport Rule will have on the SPP’s ability to provide consistent, reliable dispatchable energy to its consumers. Wyoming provides significant amounts of coal to power producers in the Southwest Power Pool.

A joint letter sent by the SPP state governors–Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming– requested the EPA evaluate “the development of incentives to encourage the continued operation of dispatchable power plants so the uncertainty of this and other pending regulatory threats do not continue to drive premature retirements of the coal generation our region so desperately needs in the heat of the summer and cold of the winter.”

The letter to SPP President and CEO Barbara Sugg can be found here.