Sen. McConnell promises to fight back against new EPA regulations

Sebree Mining, LLC

With EPA chief Gina McCarthy slated to unveil a proposal for the nation’s first ever carbon emissions limits on existing power plants early next week, an issue that has long simmered on the back burner is likely to reach a boiling point this summer. 

President Obama spoke with CNBC earlier this month, following the release of a White House report urging action on climate change, saying, “This is not some distant problem of the future. This is a problem that’s affecting Americans right now, whether it means increased flooding, greater vulnerability to drought, more severe wildfires.”

Dotiki Mine

But Sen. Mitch McConnell is launching a preemptive strike on the proposed regulations, which he describes as just the latest salvo in the administration’s “war on coal.” It’s a theme he sounded last year while introducing a bill that would prevent the EPA from regulating carbon emissions. 

Winn Energy, LLC coal pile

“We have a genuine emergency in Kentucky, a depression in Eastern Kentucky, as a result of what this administration has done and is about to do,” McConnell said in floor speech last September. 

In an email statement released Friday, the senator promises to introduce similar legislation in response to the new regulations. 

While Senate hopeful Alison Lundergan Grimes’ campaign has yet to release a statement on the rules, the candidate has also been highly critical of EPA efforts to further regulate the industry.