In Harrisburg today, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission will consider Governor Tom Wolf’s mandate that Pennsylvania become a member of the eleven-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The Independent Regulatory Review Commission is made up of three Democratic Party appointees and two Republicans.
In October of 2019 the governor issued an executive order instructing the Department of Environmental Protection to join RGGI, targeting January of next year. Critics in the legislature say it will cost thousands of jobs, with Senator Joe Pittman and Representative Jim Struzzi among the leaders of the opposition. Indiana County’s coal-fired power plants would be severely impacted by RGGI’s regulations, and would likely have to close.
In February, the IRRC recommended a one-year moratorium on joining RGGI and questioned whether Wolf has the authority to implement his plan, but in July, DEP’s Environmental Quality Board voted 15-4 to join the compact early next year.
The hearing today is at 10 AM. Senator Pittman and Representative Struzzi will both be speaking.
HERE IS THE LINK TO WATCH THE HEARING:
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