EPW Hearing Statement: “Cooperative Federalism: State Perspectives on EPA Regulatory Actions and the Role of States as Co-Regulators”

WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), a top Democrat on the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee, released the following statement regarding the subcommittee’s hearing, “Cooperative Federalism: State Perspectives on EPA Regulatory Actions and the Role of States as Co-Regulators.”

“I was born in Beckley, West Virginia and I’ve spent most of my adult life in Delaware. As a native of a small town supported by coal mining, and now as a Senator representing the lowest lying state in the nation, I have a unique perspective on the balance that we must strike to make environmental regulations work for each state. As a former governor and former state treasurer, I also know that states and businesses may bear a fiscal burden with the associated costs of regulatory compliance. That’s why it’s so important for states to be engaged in the process of developing and finalizing federal regulations.

“The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan is a great example of how fulsome communication and coordination with states is essential to the drafting process for environmental regulations. For those of us from states that are already being impacted by climate change, the Clean Power Plan to regulate our nation’s largest source of carbon is essential. While many states, including Delaware, have already taken action to reduce local power plant emissions, all states need to do their fair share to protect the air we breathe and stem the tide of climate change. In order to ensure that all 50 states were capable of complying with the Plan’s standards, the EPA conducted an unprecedented level of outreach to state and local governments, utilities and businesses in order to craft a compliance plan that works for each state. Under the Clean Power Plan, states are given their own carbon pollution targets and allowed to find the most cost-effective way to find reductions.

“The working relationship between the EPA and states is the cornerstone of our nation’s environmental protection system. And as with all federal regulations, we should continue working in good faith to see what works in our environmental rules and do more of that, while doing less of what doesn’t work. I look forward to today’s hearing to discuss how the EPA can continue working to promulgate regulations that are fair, common-sense and cost-effective for all 50 states.”