Sen. Carper Commends EPA Administrator Johnson for Responding to his Clean Air Request

On May 10, 2007, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) sent a letter to Administrator Stephen Johnson suggesting three specific actions the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could take that would inform future actions to regulate greenhouse gases.

 

Several studies have identified carbon capture and sequestration, or storage, as the critical technology to enable coal to continue to play a prominent role in the nation’s electricity generation. One of Sen. Carper’s recommendations to the EPA was to develop health and safety standards for geologic sequestration sites and pipeline. 

 

Today, Administrator Johnson announced that the EPA will quickly move to develop and propose those regulations by next spring. 

 

“We simply can not continue to burn coal the way we have for the past 80 years, yet we can’t ignore our nation’s most abundant energy resource,” Sen. Carper said. “Clean-coal technology with carbon capture and sequestration is critical to meeting our energy and environmental needs of the future. I commend Administrator Johnson for his responsiveness and commitment to move quickly to get these regulations proposed. With health and safety standards in place, the promise of clean-coal technology will become closer to a reality.”