Rep. Carl Walker Metzgar (R-Somerset/Bedford) voiced his opposition to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) at a House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee hearing Tuesday.
“RGGI would be disastrous for Pennsylvania’s economy, energy jobs and energy consumers,” Metzgar said. “The administration has not sought any input from stakeholders or economists in their decision to join RGGI, and they have ignored the General Assembly entirely in their unilateral decision-making process.”
Gov. Tom Wolf has asked the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to develop a proposed rulemaking to allow Pennsylvania to participate in the 10-state RGGI by Sept. 15. The program would create a regional cap on the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that power plants could emit and establish a carbon tax on fossil fuel users.
A number of power plants have said that if RGGI is enacted in Pennsylvania, they will be forced to close or move to another state, Metzgar said.
“To date, there has been no engagement from the administration on what will be done to replace the jobs lost, rehabilitate the sites of shuttered power plants and replace the lost revenue to local governments – especially school districts,” Metzgar said.
Metzgar also voiced support for House Bill 2025, authored by Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana), which would require legislative authorization before a program such as RGGI could be enacted in Pennsylvania. The bill passed the House on July 8 in a 130-71 vote.
Shawn Steffee of Boilermakers Local 154 testified at the hearing that he believes the bill must be debated so that communities such as his in Indiana County are not ignored.
The bill was referred to the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee on July 13.