Despite a court order from Commonwealth Court that would block it, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced today that it is moving forward with the publication of regulations to join the state to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, better known as RGGI.
The multi-state group is a major part of the Governor’s 2019 executive order that would require fossil fuel-fired power plants to pay a fee for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted starting July 1st. The regulation was originally supposed to be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on April 9th, but Commonwealth Court sided with Republican members of the state legislature and put the initiative on a temporary hold. In a statement issued today, the DEP announced that the regulations will now go in the April 23rd edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
State Representative Jim Struzzi said that the reason why it is moving forward two weeks after the stay was originally granted was due to inactivity.
Struzzi added that now that the regulations will be published, more legal action can be taken starting on Monday. State Senator Joe Pittman said that the story is still far from over.
While the DEP says that joining RGGI will help Pennsylvania cut carbon pollution by 225 million tons, and increase the state’s gross state product by nearly $2 billion, opponents of RGGI say on top of the increases in electricity prices, this would also negatively impact the communities that have coal-fired power plants, including the loss of jobs and tax revenue.
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