The Obama administration hated coal power. The former president’s detractors referred to his policy agenda in this policy area as a “war on coal,” and that wasn’t an exaggeration. The so-called Clean Power Plan, among other policies, seemed organized more around an ideological objection to coal energy from coal than any desire for workable regulations…
Jason Bohrer: The Clean Power Plan No Longer Threatens North Dakota’s Economy
Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, did a big favor for states like ours that use coal to generate electricity. His recent decision to repeal the Clean Power Plan lifted a massive regulation from our state’s economy, sparing our industries and households the effects from a weakened power grid, higher power prices and the…
Trump’s EPA Head Scott Pruitt to Governor Doug Burgum: “The Days of Coercive Federalism Are Over”
Back during last year’s election I had lunch with then-gubernatorial candidate Doug Burgum and we talked about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. At the time a lot of people, including this observer, were surprised at Burgum’s fulsome endorsement of Trump’s candidacy. He was (and still is) a hugely controversial and divisive figure even among Republicans. Burgum explained…
The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan Is Unnecessary
“Most states on track to meet emissions targets they call burden, but not North Dakota” That was a headline from Reuters over the weekend what detailed how many states (but not, you know, North Dakota) are on track to comply with the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan even as some of those states are suing over…
Heidi Heitkamp's Lame Excuse On Clean Power Plan Brief Doesn't Cut The Mustard
Yesterday news broke that two members of North Dakota’s congressional delegation had signed on to an amicus brief in the lawsuit filed by 27 states (including North Dakota) opposing the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. Both Senator John Hoeven and Rep. Kevin Cramer put their names on the document. In total, there were 33 Senators…
How Heidi Heitkamp's Vote On Filibusters Just Enabled The War On Coal
Some pretty ugly news for coal states like North Dakota today coming out of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. A panel of judges has refused to block the Clean Power Plan – an emissions reduction plan that North Dakota officials have said would be devastating for the state – while a group of 27 states…
Here Are The Issues North Dakota Is Suing Over On The Clean Power Plan
Back in October when the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan hit the federal register dozens of states joined together to file a lawsuit aiming to block it. North Dakota, however, filed its own lawsuit. I spoke with Stenehjem at the time about why that was (read my Watchdog article about it), but now the state…
The Clean Power Plan Butcher's Bill, And Why Environmentalists Want To Ignore It
Last week I wrote a post responding to a letter to the editor published in several of the state’s newspapers in which Dave Glatt, the head of North Dakota’s Department of Health, was lambasted for talking about the potential economic impacts of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan. According to the letter writer such pragmatic…
Randy Christmann: Clean Power Plan Is Stealth Cap And Trade
In August the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. Although this plan has been discussed frequently before and since the actual release, I believe most people have not been told how this plan will impact their personal finances. In order to understand this 1,560 page plan, let’s set aside the arguments…
Why Does The EPA Hate Poor People?
The State of North Dakota filed suit against the federal government over the draconian emissions reductions mandated by the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan the same day that regulation was listed in the federal register. But as that litigation goes forward the state still must treat the regulation as though it were law. To that…