A virtual news conference was held this morning to talk about the impact the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, also known as RGGI, would have at the local level in Indiana County.
On October 3rd last year, Governor Tom Wolf ordered through an executive action the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to join RGGI to, according to his statement at the time, “reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change while generating economic growth.” However, Indiana County Commissioners, school districts and local legislators said if the state were to join the initiative, the economic impact would be devastating as at least one, if not four power plants in our region would be forced to close. The financial effect of a plant’s closure would be devastating to the Homer-Center School District according to Superintendent Curtis Whitesel.
John Hughes, the Business Manager for the Boilermakers local 154 says that even though PA is not in RGGI just yet, its impact is already being felt.
The purpose of the news conference was to bring attention to this issue and persuade Governor Wolf to rescind the executive action and to work with the communities in the area to make sure that any policy would be fair to the county. A Citizens Advisory Council meeting of the PA Department of Environmental Protection will be held virtually on Tuesday, May 19th.
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