Senator Joe Pittman lit into Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Patrick McDonnell yesterday at a Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing, blasting the Wolf Administration for failing to work with the communities that would be most affected by the loss of jobs that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative would bring to Pennsylvania.
Pittman got McDonnell to admit that the only way for RGGI to generate revenue would be for coal-fired power plants to remain in operation, but the secretary also said the power plants would be closing anyway eventually, not because of RGGI, but because of market forces.
Pittman told McDonnell the administration is ignoring the devastation that will be caused when the power plants close.
The Senator continued to press McDonnell, accusing him of making nothing but empty promises.
Pittman told McDonnell the time for talk is over, and he wants to see action to address the devastation he predicts RGGI will bring to Indiana County.
Senator Pittman also criticized the Wolf Administration for having the DEP aggressively push for RGGI while the governor’s DCED (Department of Community & Economic Development) touts the benefits of carbon sequestration technology, which would keep the coal-fired plants open. He said DEP’s hiring of Chicago-based Delta Institute to aid in the recovery of communities affected by RGGI is offset by the fact that the DCED secretary testified on Wednesday that he had never heard of the organization.
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