'On August 3, President Obama and EPA announced the Clean Power Plan – a historic and important step in reducing carbon pollution from power plants that takes real action on climate change.'

Those were the opening lines in a Monday news release from the EPA.

Reactions have come hard and fast from opponents of the Clean Power Plan, from the U.S. Senate, the Montana Attorney General's office and Northwestern Energy.

Senator Steve Daines called the plan a war on American jobs and the economy.

“The Obama administration’s war on American energy is a war on American families and a war on American jobs. The Obama administration’s so-called ‘Clean Power Plan’ not only would shutter our country’s coal-fired power plants, but also hinder tribes’ and states’ ability to develop their coal resources.

“Just last month, the Supreme Court issued a severe rebuke of the Obama administration’s sweeping energy regulations, yet the Obama administration continues to act with reckless disregard for hardworking families. This latest round of costly regulations has the potential to increase American energy rates and cost thousands of good-paying jobs. I will continue fighting against the Obama administration’s assault on hardworking families and the good-paying jobs it provides.”

Attorney General Tim Fox said once again, the President is using a federal agency to go around the U.S. Constitution, bypassing the legislative system to accomplish his goals.

“President Obama is attempting to unilaterally impose a national energy policy rather than work with the people's representatives through the legislative process. This was my concern last winter when I and 16 other state attorneys general wrote EPA Administrator McCarthy. Moreover, as Crow Chairman Darrin Old Coyote and I told the EPA in December, these regulations were crafted without any meaningful input from those who will suffer the most economic harm from them, including our very own Crow Nation. Like many other states,Montanais considering all available legal options, especially in light of the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court just struck down a recent EPA regulation because the agency acted beyond its authority under the law.”

Northwestern Energy spokesman Butch Larcombe said the new rules would seriously increase the cost of energy to Montana consumers.

"About 25 percent of the power that we use to serve our Montana customers comes from Colstrip Unit Four, and we need to preserve that reliable, affordable source of energy for people," said Larcombe. "We've done a lot of work at Colstrip and it's a pretty clean plant, but any cutback there is of great concern to us."

 

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