Pa. legislative board calls members to action

Pennsylvania State Legislative Director Paul Pokrowka is asking all SMART Transportation Division members from Pennsylvania to take action and contact the office of Gov. Tom Corbett, requesting he sign House Bill 2354 into law.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced the first ever regulation of carbon dioxide emissions for existing stationary sources (power plants). Under the preliminary EPA rule, Pennsylvania is given an emissions target to meet by 2030 and will be able to write its own implementation plan on how best to meet those reductions.

The legislation, which already has approval from both chambers of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, would require the state’s Department of Environmental Protection to receive approval from the General Assembly prior to submitting the plan to the EPA.
“This bill is important to our members because it helps to give us a voice in regulations concerning the coal industry,” Pokrowka said. “We need Corbett to sign this bill into law by Oct. 26 or the bill is dead in the water.”
Rep. Pam Snyder (D), who authored the bill said, “Pennsylvania deserves the opportunity to forge its energy future and protect electric ratepayers and jobs. The state legislature will be the final arbiter of how the commonwealth approaches greenhouse gas regulation. It is what we were elected to do, and leaving Pennsylvania’s energy destiny in the hands of unelected, unaccountable federal regulators would be irresponsible.”