Letters supporting Pennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) have been linked to ICF International, a Virginia-based global consulting and technology services company the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) hired to study the state’s potential participation in RGGI.
“For a company claiming to be non-partisan and non-political, and one that has already received $475,000 in taxpayer money to prepare an unbiased study on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, there certainly appears to be no shortage of conflicts,” Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), chairman of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, said. “Interestingly enough, DEP recently awarded a new contract worth $399,000 to ICF to construct the department’s next climate change action plan.”
The Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA) distributed a letter to members of the state’s Environmental Quality Board (EQB) July 9 on behalf of 61 businesses, associations and nonprofit organizations supporting DEP’s proposed RGGI regulation. ICF was one of the signatories.
ICF said its name was used without permission or knowledge, and the letter is no longer on KEEA’s website.
However, Yaw said another letter recently emerged connecting ICF to RGGI supporters. The Combined Heat and Power Alliance, which lists LCF as a participating member organization, was one of several organizations that sent a June letter to the governor supporting the DEP’s suggested redistribution of revenues derived through a RGGI auction of allowances, according to information provided by the senator.
Yaw sent a letter to DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell July 24 questioning the impartiality of ICF International and its Integrated Planning Model.
“If ICF’s name was included without their permission, how many other names were included without permission,” Sen. Yaw said in a written statement. “This whole scenario calls into question the validity of the letter in any respect.”
Joining RGGI would establish a cap-and-trade program that would limit carbon dioxide from the power sector, but critics say the program essentially creates a carbon tax that would harm coal and natural gas jobs and decimate the state economy.
The Republican-controlled House passed legislation on July 8, House Bill 2025, that requires the Wolf Administration to seek legislative approval before Pennsylvania enters into any multi-state program, such as RGGI. The bill, which remains under consideration in the Senate, is expected to be vetoed by the governor.
Meanwhile, several committees have not supported the governor’s RGGI plan.
The DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council in May voted against Pennsylvania joining RGGI. The DEP’s Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee also has not endorsed the RGGI plan. And another DEP committee, the Small Business Compliance Advisory Committee, recently rejected the plan.
Carl Marrara, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, submitted testimony in opposition to the RGGI proposal to the DEP’s Citizens Advisory Council.
“The issue at hand is whether or not a government program, that will undoubtedly add substantial costs to Pennsylvania’s electricity consumers, is the best mechanism to achieve the cleanest, healthiest, and most sustainable environment possible. You’ll find that the answer to this question is clearly that RGGI does not accomplish this goal, but the program will negatively impact Pennsylvania’s economy in a punishing way.”
Gov. Wolf extended the deadline for DEP to develop a plan for Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI to Sept. 15. Full implementation of the plan is expected to take at least another year.