A West Virginia University expert says that eliminating the Clean Power Plan will have little effect on bringing back coal jobs because market forces, not regulations have undermined the coal industry’s future. To tell coal miners otherwise is “cruel,” according to WVU law professor James Van Nostrand, who accused EPA administrator Scott Pruitt of engaging in “demagoguery at its worst” and “playing on the hopes and fortunes” of people in coal dependent states who deserve better from their leaders.
James Van Nostrand Director, Center for Energy and Sustainable Development, Professor of Law WVU College of Law
“The adoption of the Clean Power Plan had virtually no effect on the coal industry ... and thus revoking the rule will have no positive impact on coal jobs. ... Coal lost the “war” a long time ago, and it wasn’t waged by EPA regulations; the foe was, and continues to be, cheaper and cleaner natural gas and the steep declines in the cost of renewable sources ..."
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pp/10/10/17
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